Radikon Sivi 2023 Magnum

Radikon Sivi 2023 Magnum

Radikon
$105.00

Grape: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2023
Type: Orange

Hailing from the steep, terraced vineyards of Oslavia in Friuli, right along the Italian-Slovenian border, this benchmark skin-contact bottling represents the modern, highly accessible edge of the legendary Radikon estate. Sourced from organically farmed vines rooted in ponca (layered, mineral-rich marl and sandstone), the fruit is harvested by hand at peak maturity. Part of Saša Radikon's "S" line, Sivi—meaning "gray" in Slovenian, a nod to the naturally pinkish-gray skins of Pinot Grigio—undergoes a shorter 10 to 14-day maceration on its skins in oak vats compared to the estate's flagships. Spontaneously fermented without temperature control and aged for a year and a half in large, 3,500-liter neutral Slavonian oak botti, it is bottled unfiltered with just a minimal touch of sulfur.

In the glass, it glows with a striking, translucent copper-salmon hue with bright amber and pink-gold reflections. The nose is incredibly lifted and intricate, bursting with wild strawberries, blood orange zest, ginger, rhubarb, and a warm, savory hint of baking spices and damp underbrush. On the palate, a "crystalline" streak of vibrant, alpine acidity slices directly through the wine's natural fruit sweetness and fleshy concentration. The brief skin contact imparts a beautiful, grippy framework of fine-grained, tea-like tannins that provides remarkable architectural structure without drying out the mouth. It sails into a long, mouthwatering finish defined by savory-sweet orchard fruits, citrus oil, and a deeply lingering, salty trail of crushed stone.

 

Radikon is one of the foundational names of the modern skin-contact and natural-wine movement. Based in Oslavia, in Friuli near the Slovenian border, the Radikon family built its identity around long macerations for white grapes, minimal sulfur and a deeply traditional approach that had become radical by modern standards. Stanko Radikon helped bring these methods to international attention, and the estate continues under his family with Ribolla Gialla, Jakot, Pinot Grigio and other varieties. The wines are amber, structured and savory, less about novelty than about reviving a borderland culture of patience, texture and uncompromising farming.