La Mariota

Languedoc – Roussillon / Provence / Southern France

La Mariota is a small, creative producer working in the Languedoc whose wines span the range from approachable red to ambitious orange wine, reflecting the region's growing reputation as a hotbed of natural and experimental winemaking. Le Vol des Étourneaux ("the flight of the starlings") is an image of collective movement and seasonal transition—a wine named for the murmuration of starlings that descend on Languedoc's vineyards at harvest. Roc de la Vella steps up in seriousness, likely from older vines or more carefully selected parcels on the rocky limestone and schist soils that give the best Languedoc wines their backbone. Orange Tacsum is the showpiece: an extended skin-contact white wine with the amber color, tannic texture, and oxidative complexity that have made orange wines one of the most discussed categories in contemporary natural wine. These are wines for buyers who want to showcase the Languedoc's experimental, forward-looking side alongside its more traditional expressions.