Celler Frisach "Alifares" Garnatxa Gris 2020

“we came from a very dark and deep night and all light is inadequate”

Jackson’s Notes: Look, I know orange wine isn’t always easy to get your mind wrapped around. It’s still that way for me. I don’t choose these wines lightly–they choose me. When something utterly unique and fascinating comes across our desk, we can’t help but share it. I think this wine shows an immense depth of texture and complexity, and with the right food pairing like smoked seafood or a brothy rice dish, a wine like this can be transcendental.

This is brought to us by Vinea, a small importer located near the Crunchy Red Fruit warehouse. We had this wine imported just for us, because it was unique and funky and utterly different than any wine we’ve had before, including other Grenache Gris orange wines like the FRAM in last July’s box. Catalonia has a rich tradition of making interesting skin-contact whites, and the Ferré brothers, and in turn this wine, are part of that vanguard.

Notes of apricot skin, blood orange juice and olive brine. A silky, textured palate presence that stays pleasantly bitter and vermouth-like through the finish. A wine that begs for food, preferably of the salty, smoky variety.

From Celler Frisach: “Les Alifares de Celler Frisach. Vernatxa gris fermented with skins. And nothing else: that's how the feelings sound after the first drink. We came from a very dark and deep night and all light is inadequate. We got the memory of the time marked in the skin and of the year seasons dyed in the must.”