La Sorga Feu III 2019

Anthony Tortul is a natural winemaker in the Languedoc, sourcing from a spread of vineyards under the Vin de France label, and Feu III is his orange wine from Garnacha Blanca and Garnacha Gris. The white and grey-skinned grapes are fermented in contact with their skins, the red wine method, which gives colour, gentle tannin and texture from skins that would normally be pressed away. The Languedoc's warm Mediterranean climate ripens Garnacha fully, while the grey mutation in particular brings extra aromatic depth and a touch more colour. With no oak, the wine stays direct and fruit-led, the stainless approach preserving freshness and lift. The colour is light amber to copper. The nose shows candied apricot and orange peel, fennel and dried herbs, with a faint camphor edge true to the source. The palate is fresh, dry and lightly spiced, the skin contact adding savour and a soft grip without weighing it down, finishing clean and balanced. Serve lightly chilled at 10 to 12 degrees.