Bonnet-Huteau, Ordolia, Vin de France, Loire, France, 2019

Bonnet-Huteau is an excellent Muscadet producer based in Chapelle-Heulin, in the heart of the Sèvre-et- Maine appellation, making a fine range of Muscadets. Ordolia is an experimental orange wine. This 2019 is the first vintage, with the grapes fermented still with their skins, pips and some of their stalks in 700 litre eggs. Rusty orange in colour, this is a complex wine with red fruit and peach notes, a rich texture and some quite austere tannins on the finish. It will be very interesting to see how this ages. However, you have to wonder why, given their environmental credentials, they have chosen to use such a heavy bottle (1.6kg when full). I also tasted their 2020 Les Bonnets Blancs, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie (87 points).