Orange weekly: La Castellada - Ribolla Gialla 2009

This 2009 Ribolla Gialla shows absolute mastery of Oslavia's cherished variety and the extended skin maceration technique which is increasingly associated with this village. Brothers Niccolò & Giorgio Bensa started bottling wine at this estate in Oslavia

Every week, I select an orange wine (a white wine made with extended skin contact) that grabbed my attention. View the whole series here.

Brothers Niccolò & Giorgio Bensa started bottling wine at this estate in Oslavia, Friuli Collio in 1985 - their reputation has built impressively ever since. Niccolò's sons Stefano and Matteo are now involved too. The Bensas were part of the "Gravner group" during the late 1990s, which was so pivotal in reintroducing the traditional methods of extended skin contact and wild yeast ferments.

La Castellada doesn't quite have the profile of neighbours Radikon and Gravner, perhaps as their chosen path is less extreme - the portfolio includes conventionally made wines (the whites are particularly outstanding) as well as the "orange" or skin-contact offerings.

Nonetheless, this 2009 Ribolla Gialla shows absolute mastery of Oslavia's cherished variety and the extended skin maceration technique which is increasingly associated with this village.

The grapes staye…