Radikon Ribolla 2020

Radikon is the winery that defined modern Italian orange wine, working single-variety Ribolla Gialla in Oslavia, on the Friulian border with Slovenia. The vineyards sit on ponca, the local marl and sandstone, which holds water in summer and gives the wine its mineral, savoury spine. Stanko Radikon revived his grandfather's method in 1995, fermenting the must in contact with the grape skins for an extended period. This long maceration extracts phenolics and tannin from the skins, building the structure and amber colour that set orange wine apart from a conventional white. The wine then spends 48 months in large oak foudre, where slow oxidative ageing converts harsh notes into dried fruit and nutty complexity and softens the tannin. The colour is deep amber. The nose is savoury and developed, with dried apricot, orange peel, walnut and dried herbs over a base of earth and tobacco. The palate is dry and textured, the tannin firm but resolved, the finish long and lightly bitter. Serve at 14 to 16 degrees in a broad glass, ideally decanted. It suits roast pork, aged hard cheese and mushroom dishes.