Jean-Yves Peron I Vicini Cortese 2022

Jean-Yves Peron I Vicini Cortese 2022

Jean-Yves Peron
$45.00

Grape: Cortese
Vintage: 2022
Type: Orange

This skin-contact orange wine is part of the I Vicini line produced by Savoyard winemaker Jean-Yves Péron using fruit from neighboring Piedmont. The one-hundred percent cortese grapes are hand-harvested and subjected to a low-intervention fifteen-day carbonic maceration on the skins. Spontaneous fermentation relies entirely on native vineyard yeasts inside neutral open-top containers, completely avoiding modern temperature styling. The wine undergoes a natural aging process, maturing for one full year in large neutral wooden foudres.

It pours a bright amber-gold color, releasing distinctive aromas of dried apricot, orange marmalade, and wild mountain herbs. On the palate, a medium-bodied frame pairs stone fruit flavors with a distinct, tea-like tannin structure from the skin maceration. A gentle phenolic grip frames the mid-palate cleanly, balanced by a sharp beam of mineral acidity. Subtle notes of raw hazelnut add depth across the textured mouthfeel without introducing heavy wood flavors. It finishes completely bone-dry.

Winery

Jean-Yves Péron began working his own small parcels near Albertville in 2004, building a project around the steep vineyards and local varieties of Savoie. After studying biochemistry, he turned to wine, training in Bordeaux and gaining experience with Thierry Allemand in Cornas and Bruno Schueller in Alsace. His mountain vineyards around Conflans and Fréterive include old vines worked by hand, with biodynamic practices and a rich surrounding vegetation supporting the health of the sites.

Mondeuse, Jacquère, Altesse and other local grapes are interpreted through an approach that often gives skin contact an important role, including for whites. Whole-cluster fermentations, indigenous yeasts and restrained handling carry the vineyard philosophy into the cellar. The I Vicini range extends the work through organically grown purchased grapes, including fruit from northern Italy. Those wines add Cortese, Barbera and other varieties to the picture without abandoning the project’s curiosity about maceration and aging. Péron’s range presents the Alps as a source of complex, textural wines with identities far beyond a simple notion of mountain freshness.