Grand Vins Oranges: rare, high-end wines

Grand Vins Oranges are the rare, high-end wines of your wine cellar! A Grand Vin Orange evokes emotions when tasted.

Indeed, its mastery, elegance and prestige are a reflection of the sustained attention that a Grand Vin Orange receives during its elaboration.

For this reason, the Grand Vins Oranges de Gérard Bertrand require a combination of patience and prestigious ancestral expertise.

What makes a high-end wine is also the entire history that accompanies it. The château, the vines, the cellar are also part of the renown of these rare wines. It is in Antiquity and in Georgia that orange wines were born.

Brought back into fashion, they are more than a simple trend and offer surprising flavours that are absolutely worth discovering. One only needs to immerse oneself in the amber, light orange, brilliant and limpid colour of a Grand Vin Orange to succumb to its charm.

Grand Vins Oranges: the pleasure of the aromas of a prestigious wine

A grand vin is a wine that touches the sensitive part of one's Being. It gives the taster shivers down their spine, surprised by so many emotions. Grand Vins Oranges are among those prestigious wines that touch something timeless, something immeasurable that makes the heart flutter.

The aromas of a Grand Vin Orange

Not only does its luminous orange-coloured robe leave no one indifferent. But tasting a Grand Vin Orange at maturity is a wonderful way to ensure a very beautiful experience. Its fresh, fruity and floral aromas are primary aromas which, over time, reveal secondary and tertiary aromas.

Thus, perfumes with spiced and fruity notes of floral fragrances give way to a harmonious bouquet of citrus zests, offering atypical aromas unlike those found in classic wines.

The character of the white grape varieties of Grand Vins Oranges

Each wine-growing region has its own preferred grape varieties for the elaboration of its orange wines. At Gérard Bertrand, the precious Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Mauzac, Muscat, Roussanne, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc and Colombard grape varieties each have their own character.

It is therefore about understanding the typicity of each one and also their growth, as well as their evolution according to each vintage. Everything is meticulously selected to obtain prestigious blends destined for a high-end orange wine.

The consideration of the terroir of rare high-end wines

A Grand Vin Orange is born of ancestral expertise. Where the terroir has full expression. The roots of the vines draw nourishment from the complex mineral-rich soils, bringing the right nutrients to the grape berries.

Also, at Gérard Bertrand, our Grand Vins Oranges are produced on protected soils to preserve the fauna and flora whilst reinforcing the intrinsic noble identity of our Languedoc-Roussillon terroirs. Thus, the climate, geology and exposure of the vines enrich the aromatic complexity of our high-end orange wines

Grand Vins Oranges: the pleasure of savouring an exceptional wine

A Grand Vin Orange breaks free from oenological constraints through its grace and magic. This kind of wine is one you remember for life. It transgresses our senses and our memories. Even more so when one is a professional taster. It disorients, through the offering of its very frank aromas on the nose.

And its chiselled flavours, at once raw and caressing, on the palate, which are woven together by the relief of the tannins. It is the kind of wine that transports every cell of our body to a very distant past.

Orange wine: a macerated white wine

Whilst orange wine is produced from white grape varieties, it is vinified like a red wine. Be careful not to compare it with a white wine, nor a red wine, and even less with a rosé wine. Orange wine has the particular feature of undergoing skin maceration during its vinification, as red wines do.

Thus, the phenolic compounds of white grapes are better extracted, releasing colouring matter and tannins contained in the skins of the grape berries. Some cellar masters choose not to push this maceration too far in order to preserve a degree of acidity.

In this case, the fermentation process begins with whole bunches, destemmed or not, just as with red wine vinification. Orange wine can readily undergo elaboration without sulphites.

Grand Vins Oranges: ageing in barrel and in amphora

From one year to the next, the climatic conditions of the vintage differ. This shapes the development of the grape. To make a Grand Vin Orange, the vintage matters. The healthier the grapes, the better the quality of the orange wine. Once fermentation is complete, some orange wine producers choose to push the maceration even further.

Whilst others prefer to press the musts mid-fermentation and transfer them into barrels and into amphorae to be aged naturally. This is the case of our Biodynamic Biodynamie cuvée Villa Soleilla. Our prestigious orange wine then continues its ageing in amphorae for 8 months until it is bottled.

The very fine porosity of the terracotta amphora provides regular oxygenation and rounds out the tannins. Furthermore, orange wines are said to be natural, meaning that no oenological product is added, not even sulphites. Indeed, the extraction of polyphenols from the skin naturally protects the wine from oxidation.

Grand Vins Oranges and luxury food and wine pairings

The rarity and quality of Grand Vins Oranges raise questions about how to taste them. Any occasion is a good one to uncork a bottle of orange wine to treat yourself and delight your guests. That said, before serving Grand Vins Oranges, a theoretical introduction to the method of elaboration of this type of wine is recommended. These rare quality wines are complex. Even though orange wine pairs wonderfully with dishes of pronounced flavours, the powerful aromatic precursors it contains release a range of notes of linden, citrus, apple, spice, tea, and honey over herbal fragrances mingled with toasted bread.

So that it pairs divinely with caviar for absolute luxury without risking the alteration of the delicate aromas of the caviar, whilst deploying a very pleasant bitterness and a hint of salinity. For this luxury food and wine pairing, the 2021 vintage of our Grand Vin Orange Villa Soleilla is excellent.
Other flavoursome pairings with a Mediterranean octopus carpaccio with citrus or a skate wing with pepper and saffron sauce will reveal very complex flavours of exceptional persistence.
For an ode to the gentleness of Italian cuisine, black truffle ham and truffle spaghetti are elevated by the 2020 Villa Soleilla vintage.
On the cheese side, orange wines shine as they are highly recommended with comté, parmesan, salers and even mimolette. However, with a raw milk goat's cheese, the pairing is absolutely splendid.

These wines are built on straightforwardness and finesse, displaying a low acidity and delicately present tannins, which contribute to a good ageing potential.

Learn more about white wine, red wine or rosé wine.

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Its wine-growing châteaux of the Languedoc-Roussillon

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