The name is pure whimsy — cinema and Italian Christmas cake — but the wine is anything but frivolous. This is one of the most serious white wines you'll find from the south of France, and it plays by no one else's rules.
An equal blend of Grenache Blanc, Maccabeu and Grenache Gris from a single parcel on schistous soils, grown at up to 600 metres above the Mediterranean. The nose is oxidative and floral, the palate all acidity, tension and minerality, with a beautiful salinity and a direct expression of the schist beneath the vines. Reserved and tightly strung at first, it opens up to reveal lime zest, narcissus flowers, and something close to the essence of crushed rock — considerable energy and subtle richness at once.
This is not a fruit bomb but a rock bomb — and that's precisely what makes it so compelling. The vineyards at Clot de l'Oum sit between 400 and 600 metres on granite, gneiss and schist soils, farmed biodynamically, with wines aged in old barrels and foudres.
Decant it, give it thirty minutes, and serve with something savoury and substantial. It will reward the patience.