Pino Romàn Skin Contact Semillon

Grape: Sémillon
Region: Itata Valley, Chile
Vintage: 2024
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Dry
Style: Savoury
ABV: 12%

A textured, savoury orange wine from Chile’s Itata Valley made from 100% Sémillon. Lemon peel, quince and pear skin meet chamomile, dried herbs and spice, with gentle tannin and a salty mineral finish. It’s dry and fresh, but there’s enough grip and texture here to make it much more than a simple summer white.

Ignacio “Nacho” Pino Román works with small growers around Itata, focusing on old vineyards and traditional farming. This Sémillon comes from a tiny parcel of more than 40-year-old, own-rooted bush vines in Coelemu, planted on decomposed granite soils near Chile’s Pacific coast.

The winemaking mixes fresh juice with portions given extended skin contact, with some of the wine spending time in neutral French oak. That extra time on the skins brings out Sémillon’s more savoury side, adding texture, spice and a little tannic grip without losing the grape’s natural freshness.

Sémillon, but make it orange. Salty, herbal, slightly weird and extremely good with food.