New and Old Wines from Radikon
If you're unfamiliar with these wines, let's start here: Raise your hand if you've heard of this new term "orange wine?" Me, me, me. Yes, we have tons of them. What is it? In simple terms, wine that is orange or white wine with extended skin contact. Read here if you'd like to learn more. I was into this thing before it became a thing, but at Some Good Wine, we're trying not to make it a thing. Get it? No, okay. Well, Radikon is one of the leaders of orange wine making; iconic in a sense and one of the inspirational leaders for those around the world trying to make it in this space. The trick though, is not to think of it as orange wine and more of just Radikon's wine.
If you haven't tried these, they really are something special. All of Radikon's whites are made in the same way: the organically farmed, stunningly low-yield, hand-harvested fruit is de-stemmed and gently crushed with a pneumatic press. It is placed in old Slavonian oak vats and fermented with native yeasts. It macerates with the skins for around 3 months—however long it takes to reach total dryness--with no temperature control and no sulfur. The wine is racked and aged on its lees in huge Slavonian oak casks (25-35-hectoliter) for 3-4 years, racked twice a year. The wine is then bottled without sulfur and without filtration. The bottles are aged for several years before release; the “current” Radikon vintage is always 7 years ahead of today, e.g. 2012 release in 2019.
If you haven't tried these, they really are something special. All of Radikon's whites are made in the same way: the organically farmed, stunningly low-yield, hand-harvested fruit is de-stemmed and gently crushed with a pneumatic press. It is placed in old Slavonian oak vats and fermented with native yeasts. It macerates with the skins for around 3 months—however long it takes to reach total dryness--with no temperature control and no sulfur. The wine is racked and aged on its lees in huge Slavonian oak casks (25-35-hectoliter) for 3-4 years, racked twice a year. The wine is then bottled without sulfur and without filtration. The bottles are aged for several years before release; the “current” Radikon vintage is always 7 years ahead of today, e.g. 2012 release in 2019.
- 10% off 6, 15% off 12
- Wines Arrive 3 weeks
- Please note differences in size and pricing: 500ml, 750ml, 1500ml
2017 Radikon Slatnik (750ml/1500ml)
Newsletter Price: $42.99/$99.99
Chardonnay 80%, Friulano 20%, 25 years old vines with biodynamic cultivation. Full-bodied, vinified in red in wooden vats and aged for 18 months in oak barrels. The perfumes are intese, with notes of yellow exotic fruit and resin. In mouth it is smooth and fresh, with tannic and saline aromas.
2017 Radikon Sivi (750ml/1500ml)
Newsletter Price: $42.99/$99.99
100% Pinot Grigio. Radikon's 750ml bottlings are Sasa Radikon's addition to his dad Stanko's original 500ml line: they are still "orange" wines but less intensely so due to a shorter period of skin contact and aging. Otherwise, all of the wines are made identically: the Pinot Grigio is destemmed and fermented with natural yeasts in oak vat, with no temperature control and no sulfur. Maceration lasts for 10-14 days (versus 3 months for the 500ml wines). After a gentle pressing, the wine is put in 3500-liter Slavonian oak barrels for a year and a half on its lees; it is bottled without sulfur and without filtration. This Pinot Grigio bottling was dubbed "Sivi" starting in the 2016 vintage; it means "gray" in Slovenian, in reference to the grayish-pink color of the grape's skin.
2014 Radikon Jakot (500ml/1000ml)
Newsletter Price: $51.99/$74.99
100% Tocai Friulano.“Jakot” is a thumbing of the nose at the EU—a reversal of “Tokaj”—since the use of the word Tokai/Tokaj was banned for the grape except in Hungary. Great introduction to the lot with tons of exotic creaminess and filled with oily orange and nut concentrations. Sexy and powerful.
2014 Radikon Ribolla Gialla (500ml/1000ml)
Newsletter Price: $51.99/$74.99
100% Ribolla Gialla from estate vines averaging over 50 years old. Deep orange -- the most of the bunch -- with tons of dried apricots, nuts, thyme, fennel, anise, butterscotch and more.
2014 Radikon Oslavje (500ml/1000ml)
Newsletter Price: $51.99/$74.99
40% Chardonnay/30% Pinot Grigio/30% Sauvignon Blanc. Second most orangey of the bunch. Not as exotic and cloying as the Ribolla, with more finely tuned acid and plush fruit concentration.
2006 Radikon Oslavje Fuori Al Tempo Riserva (500ml/1000ml)
Newsletter Price: $51.99/$74.99
New wine from the bunch we haven't tried yet and is the first release. Chard/Tocai blend that requires at least 10 years of age. Should be amazing, but we don't know!