£15, Ocado; Vinatis UK, All About Wine
It's only four weeks and three intervening red wines since this slot was last occupied by an orange wine, but I can't resist this, not least because it's a very different expression. from the fragrant, hazy pink Greek Moschofilero.
It's an amber-gold organic wine produced by Gérard Bertrand, a former rugby international who has built up an empire of 16 biodynamically farmed estates in the South of France since taking over the family domaine in Corbières in 1987.
The blend of six white varieties is headed by Chardonnay with a support cast of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Mauzac and Muscat and the grapes are hand-picked and fermented in whole bunches (i.e. with stems and skins like red wines) to give tannin, texture and acidity, as well as all the aromatic components.
And there are plenty of those – spice, fresh and dried apricot, fresh flowers and pot pourri, green tea, ground ginger and dried orange peel.
Serve it lightly chilled with spicy fish, vegetable and meat dishes, tomato sauces, roast peppers and other veg, and lightly smoked food. I had it with smoked tofu in a Sicilian tomato sauce with rose harissa, roast red and orange peppers, carrots roasted with caraway, cumin and pomegranate molasses and a generous drizzle of Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil. 13%. Empty bottle weight 630g.
Gérard Bertrand Orange Gold 2020, Vin de France
£15, Ocado; £12.76 (plus £6 delivery for 6), Vinatis UK; £15.99 (plus £7.96 delivery, any number of bottles), All About Wine
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