Rioja targets white wine

White wines are not new in Rioja. A few weeks ago, thanks to the generosity of the importer based in Canada, Alex Klip, who is also passionate about old wines, I was able to try a Monte Real presumably bottled in the 1930s. The color was brown, but the palate maintained the acidity and offered the kind of caressing texture that can only be achieved with prolonged rest in the bottle.

In my drawer of memories of old white Riojas I keep a delicate Paternina Semidulce 1948 from the Conde de los Andes winery in Ollauri that is now guarded by the Muriel group after restoring its old underground cellars; a Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée 1959 from Franco-Españolas that looked 40 years younger (not an exaggeration); or a Tondonia vertical organized in 2006 at the López de Heredia facilities in Haro in which vintages from 1957 to 1981 were paraded.

Tondonia’s extraordinary fidelity to its past is a rarity. Many classic white Riojas disappeared (Viña Ardanza, for example, said goodbye to the market in the eighties) or lost connection with the styles and preparations of yesteryear, although the original brands survived.

In Rioja, both the industrialization of the seventies and the oenological renewal of the nineties were essentially red. The first white wines that stood out in this context were the result of very personal concerns. If Conde de Valdemar carried out the first modern fermentation in barrels, Remelluri disrupted styles with a medley of varieties grown at high altitude that left out the most planted white grape in the region: viura.

Abel Mendoza earned a legion of admirers by vinifying local varieties separately. And, of course, the most renowned winemakers soon came up with ambitious white wines. Miguel Ángel de Gregorio started with Allende to continue with the Mártires plot. Benjamín Romeo released Qué Bonito Cacareaba; Carlos San Pedro, the sharp Añadas Frías, who, when the weather does not fit the title, sells it as San Juan de Anteportalatina. Rafael Palacios left Plácet on the right track in Rioja Baja (now Oriental) before rising to Galician stardom with As Sortes in Valdeorras. We must thank Basilio Izquierdo for putting white Grenache on the map as a key ingredient in quality Rioja whites with his B for Basilio.

White passion has not stopped growing, encouraged by international demand. Today, in fact, the world consumes more white wine than red. In 2007, the Regulatory Council authorized new white varieties: the minority Maturana Blanca and Turruntés, Tempranillo Blanca, a mutation of the red wine discovered by chance in a vineyard in the region; but also, in a very controversial decision, international varieties such as chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, along with the verdejo popularized by Rueda. At a time when the world of wine is looking for its own and differentiating elements, the latter have been used more as an aromatic and structural resource to compete with regions specializing in whites. The most ambitious proposals have preferred the local argument.

Wineries such as Contino, Muga or Roda, which were born as producers of prestigious red wines, have launched whites with identical quality aspirations. The evolution of Remírez de Ganuza, who started with a modest Erre Punto that gave way to a reserve and a high-flying great reserve that exceeds 80 euros, is paradigmatic in this sense.

The new small producers generally incorporate quality whites into their ranges, sometimes with original touches such as the one Olivier Rivière does by aging his Mirando al Sur in sherry barrels or the work with skins from Bodegas Bhilar that shines in the long aging of Phinca La Revilla Sixth Year.

Among the historic wineries, Murrieta has come a long way with Capellanía to take it where it wanted and make it an essential reference in the region. To do this he has had to resurrect his older brother, the white version of Castillo Ygay, which has become the most expensive white in Rioja. Others, like Cvne and Franco-Españolas, have dusted off old recipes or, like Gómez Cruzado, have reinvented themselves in a modern way. There are countless good reasons to explore the world of white Riojas.

Monopole Classic Reserve

A few years ago Cvne recovered the old production of this white that was first put on the market in the 1914 harvest and which consisted of adding a small batch of manzanilla from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to give a little more structure to its viura. The contribution can be more or less subtle, but it always manifests itself at the end of the mouth, with a saline touch and a lot of persistence. A good idea to keep the label. Not to be confused with the Monopole itself. This one is more expensive and has a longer shelf life in the bottle.

·Year: 2020
·Guy: white
·DO: Rioja
·Store: Cvne. Viura.
·Vol: 13.5%
·Price: 22 euros

Buradòn The Prayers

Carlos Sánchez Viticulturist

Madrid native Carlos Sánchez cut his teeth as a producer in Gredos, but he has found his place in the world in Rioja, where he has been working on his own project for four years. This is the second vintage of a very limited production white. It is made with viuras that are purchased from two winegrowers in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and that are grown in the high areas or headlands where the soils are poorer. With fermentation and aging in barrels (10 months), there are aniseed and citrus notes, a lot of sapidity and potential for development.

·Year: 2021
·Guy: white
·DO: Rioja
·Vinegrower: Carlos Sanchez
·Vol: 13%
·Price: 27 euros

Las Planas Gran Reserva

A wine that escapes the traditional hierarchy of Rioja whites. Non-historical winery that dares to create a great reserva and also does so with grapes from Rioja Oriental, an area most associated with Garnacha. The key is the estate that gives its name to the wine, planted in 1980 on the slopes of Mount Yerga on calcareous soils. A very special place that translates into a white, with notes of white and stone fruit (peach), fine and still youthful, with a broad, fatty palate and an interesting saline aftertaste. There are 3,125 bottles of this vintage.

·Year: 2018
·Guy: white
·DO: Rioja
·Store: Real Agrado – Alfaro Vineyards. Viura.
·Vol: 13.5%
·Price: 40 euros

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