Decanter’s orange wine tasting
It’s the new colour on the wine spectrum, white wine made as if it were a red. Simon Woolf debunks the myths behind this centuries-old style of vinification and joins a landmark Decanter tasting to reveal the top 24 wines you should try.
Orange wine is the most characterful, thrilling and food-friendly styles on our shelves today, with their deep hues, intense aromas and complex flavours. So say the converts.
The counter charge is robust: orange is the emperor’s new clothes, beloved only of trendy sommeliers and hipsters who forgive their oxidised, faulty nature. The wines are unpalatable curiosities that no right-thinking wine consumer would ever choose to drink for pleasure.
What exactly is an orange wine?
The term is increasingly used for white wines where the grapes were left in contact with their skins for days, weeks or even months. Effectively, this is white wine made as if it were a red. The result differs not only in colour, but is also markedly more intense on the nose and palate, sometimes with significant tannins.
The combination of freshness with tannin makes for superbly versatile food wines, as former sommelier and now writer/broadcaster Levi Dalton discovered while working at top New York Italian restaurant Convivio in 2009. He explains: ‘Orange wines were my get-out-of-jail-free card. We had a chef who would switch from fish to meat and back again on a tasting menu and orange wines paired effortlessly with every course.’
In December 2014, Decanter held it’s first blind tasting of 72 orange wines. Wines entered had to be made using traditional winemaking methods with a minimum of four days’ skin contact.
The type of fermentation vessel used, temperature control during fermentation, indigenous yeasts and total SO2 were also taken into account. The tasters were Simon Woolf, Decanter’s tastings director Christelle Guibert and Isabelle Legeron MW.
Top orange wines:
Enfield Wine Co, Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California, USA, 2013
90
Cloudy, light lemon gold. Spicy and delicate with notes of dried bay leaf and lemon. An honest, young wine with lovely elegance that could benefit with more bottle maturation.
2013
Enfield Wine CoNapa Valley
Intellego, Elementis, Swartland, South Africa, 2013
90
Herbaceous and fresh with aromas of greengage, apricot and white blossoms. Concentrated, long, delicious and very easy drinking; probably a great way to get started with orange wines.
2013
Intellego
Terroir al Límit, Terra de Cuques, Priorat, Catalonia, Spain, 2012
90
<p>Delicate, pale gold colour; great poise and detail in this wine. Perfumed with southern Mediterranean dried herbs, acacia and liquorice. Has tension and intensity with a long finish, and lots of layers.</p>
2012
Terroir al LímitPriorat
Albert Mathier & Fils, Amphore Assemblage, Valais, Switzerland, 2011
89
Pale gold with an orange hue. Appealing, rich, smoky and herbaceous nose. Palate has lovely density, fine tannins, good fruit and a long, toasty, complex finish.
2011
Albert Mathier & Fils
Cosimo Maria Masini, Daphné, Tuscany, Italy, 2013
89
Ripe honeydew melon and citrus nose. Really lively, sprightly apricot and peach fruit with a nutty finish. Powerful, robust and tense with a dried spice finish. A wellpriced, approachable white to introduce newcomers to the orange wine style.
2013
Cosimo Maria Masini
Denavolo, Dinavolino, Italy, 2012
89
Intensely aromatic nose of ripe fruit. Elegant and refreshing palate of rose petal, Turkish Delight, and herbs. The tannins bring elegance to the aromatic nature of the grape and ends with a honeyed finish.
2012
Denavolo
Dirty and Rowdy, Sémillon, Napa Valley, California, USA, 2013
89
Vibrant lemon zest and cinnamon nose. Creamy texture with elegant leafy and crunchy pear flavours. Light phenolics with a hay note to finish.
2013
Dirty and RowdyNapa Valley
Gravner, Anfora Ribolla, Italy, 2006
89
Shy nose of peach and honey. Tight structure with lots of depth and power; it has many layers of savoury, dried apricot and honey. Well rounded and extremely long.
2006
Gravner
Pierluigi Zampaglione, Don Chisciotte Fiano, Campania, Italy, 2011
89
<p>Apricot and orange zest nose with dry tobacco leaf lift. High acidity, elegant and vibrant with depth and complexity. Nutty with honeyed flavours and a fresh, bitter orange finish.</p>
2011
Pierluigi Zampaglione
Skerk, Ograde, Venezia Giulia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, 2011
89
<p>Wonderfully aromatic, jasmine-scented nose. Quite aromatic on palate. Good tension, lots of layers and ripe tannins. A harmonious wine with focused fruit and perfect for food.</p>
2011
Skerk
Andreas Tscheppe, Hirschkäfer Erdfass, Steirerland, Austria, 2012
90
Elegant nose with good intensity of ripe apricot, sweet spices, and floral notes. Nicely textured with good tannin structure, vibrant acidity and lovely purity of fruit. Finishes with almond and lime flavours.
2012
Andreas Tscheppe
Sepp & Maria Muster, Gräfin, Steirerland, Austria, 2011
90
Deep gold, with a lush perfume of complex spices. Fine texture, lifted aromas and good balance of ripeness and tannic grip from the skin contact. Notes of dried herbs; very complete.
2011
Sepp & Maria Muster
Shobbrook, Giallo, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2013
90
Very aromatic and elegant; attractive aromas of quince, ripe apple, citrus and a hint of honey. Nice texture from the tannins and good overall balance leading to a fine, refreshing finish.
2013
Shobbrook
AmByth, OW Grenache Blanc, Paso Robles, California, USA, 2013
92
Vibrant, gold colour with lemonmeringue pie and quince jelly aromas. Sweet spices on the palate, which is rich, concentrated, and has great freshness – almost lime-like. Grippy tannins with a hint of honey on the finish.
2013
AmBythPaso Robles
Colombaia, Tuscany, Italy, 2013
92
Inviting stone fruit nose with a savoury smoke intensity. Complex palate of liquorice, green tea and honeyed apricot. Great tension and lots of personality.
2013
Colombaia
Foradori, Vigneti delle Dolomiti, Fontanasanta Nosiola, Italy, 2012
92
Pale gold with a delicate nose that is multilayered and elegant. Bitter almond and citrus fl avours with bright acidity and a blossom finish.
2012
Foradori
Kmetija Stekar, Rebula Prilo, Slovenia, 2007
92
Attractive perfumed nose: jasmine-scented apple fruit. High acidity, quite tannic structure but has a nice freshness. Quite complex with layers and a nice nuttiness on the finish.
2007
Kmetija Stekar
Le Coste, Paino, Italy, 2010
92
<p>Lavender and earth aroma. Lovely depth of fruit, with great tension and nice contrast between tannin and freshness. Poised wild thyme finish.</p>
2010
Le Coste
Mlecnik, Ana, Vipavska Dolina, Slovenia, 2009
92
Beautiful, intense honeyed peach and apricot. Savoury fl avours of walnut and nice ripe tannins, and a texture that is beautifully executed. An accessible style with length and freshness.
2009
Mlecnik
Nikoladzeebis Marani, Tsolikouri, Georgia, 2012
91
<p>Spiced, baked apple nose. It has a good bite, nice depth and earthiness with everything in balance. Finishes with a nice, chewy texture.</p>
2012
Nikoladzeebis Marani
Sepp & Maria Muster, Erde, Steirerland, Austria, 2011
91
Intense and aromatic nose of ripe apricot, fenugreek and sweet lime. Silky texture: long, complex and beautiful – what skin contact can bring to the equation. Great food wine.
2011
Sepp & Maria Muster
Albert Mathier & Fils, Amphore Assemblage, Valais, Switzerland, 2010
90
Herbal, honeyed nose and palate with cinnamon lift. Dense and complex with a finish that is long, showing notes of cumin, tea leaf and dry tobacco. Sophisticated and fresh.
2010
Albert Mathier & Fils
La Castellada, Ribolla Gialla, Collio, Fruili-Venezia Giulia, Italy, 2009
Bright, light gold hue with intense notes of dried herbs, spices, fresh tobacco and camomile. The palate has nutty tannins, bright acidity, and great balance;...
2009
La CastelladaCollio
Skerlj, Malvasia, Venezia Giulia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, 2009
89
Lifted fruit with honey and herbal aromas. Savoury with good depth and nice layers, and a very long finish; lively and vivacious.
2009
Skerlj
