Bodega Cueva by Mariano Orange Tardana & Macabeo Valencia, Spain 2022

Producer: Bodegas Cueva

Grapes:  Tardana & Macabeo

Where: Utiel-Requena

Country: Spain

Taste: Hazy coral-peach hued in the glass, with low acidity, some tasty apricotty skin-contact flavors, and wild, but only mildly so. 

Certified Organic

Additional Info:

It doesn't get much more old school than Bodegas Cueva. Founded in 2000, yet the the original winery is from the 18th century, and not much has changed since then. Mariano Taberner knows his land intricately and in an almost mystical way translates the Mediterranean essence through his grapes. One of the first to be certified organic (by the Comité de Agricultura Ecológica de la Comunidad Valenciana) he is committed to biodiversity and the health of his vineyards.

Cueva hosts a variety of 100+ year old centenary vines of Tempranillo, Bobal, and Tardana (a white grape that is used for most of the sparkling wines). All of the wines are kept naturally cool in long, undisturbed underground cellars. As a winemaker, he's known for being a bit of a magician, using unique fermentation techniques and unconventional vinification methods. Everything is bottled without filtering, fining, or sulphur additions of any kind.

This orange is a blend of Macabeo and Tardana. All grapes are certified organic, hand harvested, macerated on the skins in stainless tanks for 30 days followed by spontaneous yeast fermentation and aged on the lees for several more months in tank after harvest before bottling. Unfined, unfiltered, and zero SO2.