Bizarra Extravaganza Orange Natural 2020

Bizarra Extravaganza Orange Natural, Juanico, Canelones, Uruguay, 2020

Grape: A co-fermented blend of 50% Gros Manseng & 50% Petit Manseng, sustainable farming, practising organic, 65hl/ha yield, skin contact for 35 days, aged half in barrel & half in tank for 6 months, unfiltered

It smells like apple, honey and "Rock and Roll". Tastes like fresh fruit juice. Recommended to be served chilled.

Orange wine is made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice. The result is a deep, orange-hued wine, with an incredibly complex range of flavours, and an excellent match for foods that are bold, intense and spiced. The winemaking process is an ancient one that naturally allows the use of little to no additives. Unfiltered wine, and so a little cloudy. Low in sulphites (yeasts produce a small amount naturally in fermentation) and only a small amount of SO2 is added during bottling.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"This is a co-fermentation of petit and gros manseng fermented with native yeasts and with just a small dose of sulfur added at the time of bottling. After macerating for a month and a half, this orange wine has layers of candied, almost caramelized, flavors and ripe fruit mixed with a firm, slightly rustic texture. The sensation of sweetness (from the ripeness of the fruit, not residual sugar, which it hardly has) fills the mouth in a wine that's very pleasing to drink."

92/100 points, Patricio Tapia, Descorchados, January 2022

"Coppery gold colour, barely cloudy. The aroma reminds me of a sweet wine from Portugal's Setubal Península: caremelised apricots and bitter orange and a grapey scent. But it's a bone-dry wine with fierce tannins and high acidity – extreme in every way and yet delicious in that extremity. Not for anyone who likes only subtlety, and it needs food. Intensely, mouth-wateringly apricot on the palate. Chewy, long and extravagantly 'orange' in style. Well done for daring to be extreme. I love it but it's not for anyone averse to tannic whites."

16/20 points, Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, January 2023

Familia Deicas winery was born in 2000 as a project by the Deicas family, to make quality, terroir-driven wines with a minimal intervention philosophy. Winemaker Santiago Deicas sources fruit from 60ha of vineyards and prefers to use clay amphorae and neutral oak barrels, often using co-fermentation of different grape varieties. The first "Bizarra" wines were produced in 2018.