Ageno - No. 1 Natural Wine
Decanter has just declared La Stoppa’s orange wine, Ageno, the world's best natural wine.
The magazine’s expert panel blind-tasted 122 natural wines “from all corners of the globe”. And the winner was La Stoppa, Ageno, Emilia, Emilia Romagna, Italy, 2011, the very same wine that I enjoyed with dinner in Cork’s Cafe Paradiso last week.
Some of the comments from the panel:
Full bodied, spicy and honeyed.
The full orange in colour…it has fine meal-time aptitude and dazzling compelling flavours.
A riper style that is full of energy and laden with oranges and rhubarb..memorable finish.
It is indeed memorable, from start to finish: the colour, the flavours, the finalé. The experts didn't mention it specifically but I found hints of both cider and sherry, not least in the aromas. It is though very well balanced and complex and certainly proved a winner with the vegetarian dishes in Paradiso.It is produced using an old traditional winemaking method, where the grapes are macerated on their skins (indigenous yeast, no added sulphur) for up to a month, or more, to create an orange wine. It helps that Ortrugo tends to orange in any case. The result is rich in colour, tannic and complex.
It is a superb wine with the grape varieties being Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (60%) and Ortrugo and Trebbiano and is produced by Elena Pantaleoni. She is in Ireland this week, showing at the Le Caveau trade tastings in Dublin (Tuesday) and in Cork (Thursday).
During last year’s visit, she told me that the first Ageno was first produced in 2002. “We do not have a long experience of this wine,” said Elena and she recommended serving it at 15 degrees.
During last year’s visit, she told me that the first Ageno was first produced in 2002. “We do not have a long experience of this wine,” said Elena and she recommended serving it at 15 degrees.
Bradley’s in North Main Street, Cork, stock quite a few of the Le Caveau wines.
See also (from current Italian series):
