Recommended whites to taste in 2024. Photos: A.C.
This is the first of a two-part series featuring a selection of wines that we think are interesting and that are setting or reinforcing trends in their respective fields. This part includes white wines, a sparkling and a sweet wine. Rioja, a region increasingly looking beyond reds, is well represented.
Nivarius, a white wine specialist with a significant number of vineyards at high elevation around Sierra de Moncalvillo, is set to release its first traditional method sparkling wine carrying the DOCa. Rioja seal. They have blended Viura from this area and the Sonsierra with Garnacha Blanca from Clavijo and Maturana Blanca from Nalda, where the winery is based. All the grapes are grown between 500 and 820 m elevation, well above the average for the region. These areas escaped the severe frosts that affected Rioja in 2017, and benefited from day and night temperature variations during a warm summer, resulting in an early harvest. The base wine is aged on the lees for 14 months. Following a popular trend in Champagne, about 15% of the wine is a perpetual reserve - so far from 2018 and 2017, but new vintages will be added in due course. The wine is then aged for a further 60 months after the second fermentation.
The result is a serious, dry sparkling wine with lively bubbles, white fruit, dried herbs and toasted nuances, with a long finish and pleasant bitterness. The use of Maturana Blanca, a grape variety exclusive to Rioja, and Garnacha Blanca, which is not allowed in DO Cava, is sure to appeal to wine lovers.
Grape varieties: 70% Viura, 15% Garnacha Blanca, 15% Maturana Blanca
Alcohol: 12.5% abv.
Bottles: 2.490
Retail price in Spain: €34
This white wine carries the legacy of Ensayo Capital Nº 2, which Queirón released in the 2019 vintage as one of its experimental wines. The result is remarkable for a variety with a short history (it is a colour mutation discovered in 1988) that, with over 750 hectares under vines, has become the second most widely planted white variety in Rioja after Viura, although it is still in the process of defining its style and top quality standards. Nevertheless, this wine proves that Tempranillo Blanco is well suited to high elevations. The grapes come from El Aniceto in Quel (Sierra de Yerga, Rioja Oriental), a vineyard planted with clay, sand and silt at 640 m elevation in a slow ripening area that the Pérez Cuevas family, which also owns Bodegas Ontañón, has designated for white varieties. The winemaking is truly imaginative. Fermentation starts with the skins for about seven days and ends in 500-litre French oak barrels, where 85% of the wine is aged for six months, while the remaining 15% is matured in stoneware amphorae.
It has a deep golden colour with notes of white and stone fruit, dried herbs and some depth on the nose. The palate is unctuous, with well-integrated oak, moderate alcohol and enough acidity to deliver juiciness and length. The elaborate label offers plenty of information and shows the brand's commitment to creating value in Rioja Oriental.
Grape varieties: Tempranillo Blanco
Alcohol: 12.5% abv.
Bottles: 15,000
Retail price in Spain: €20
Viñedo Singular is on the rise in Rioja and we are delighted to see more whites in this single vineyard category. Vivanco has chosen a very special site in Briones to produce a red and a white under this seal. Located on the second terrace of the Ebro, La Isla has sandy and alluvial soils and is home to some of the oldest vines in the village. The ungrafted vines destined for this wine with charming salinity were planted in 1973 and are now certified organic. After maturing in 500-litre barrels and stainless steel tanks, it rested in the bottle for 30 months before being released. 
On the nose, it has the serious, often indefinable profile of Rioja whites, with hints of raw almonds and pencil lead giving way to notes of exuberant fruit. The enveloping palate opens with fresh acidity and well-integrated oak, culminating in a lovely saline finish with hints of hot stones. A notable contribution to the increasingly diverse and exciting scene of quality Rioja whites.
Grape varieties: 98% Viura, 2% Malvasía, Garnacha Blanca and Calagraño
Alcohol: 13.5% abv.
Bottles: 1,051
Retail price in Spain: €55 in wooden box
The growing interest in Rioja's white wines is also leading to the revival of the sweet versions of yesteryear. Franco-Españolas, the only centenarian winery that continues to produce a readily available semi-sweet wine under the popular Diamante brand, now offers a premium, oak-aged version with this Graciela, reminiscent of the old "Cepa Sauternes" produced in the first third of the 20th century. The wine is made from 80-year-old Viura vines grown in the upper parts of north-facing vineyards in the foothills of Sierra de la Demanda, which benefit from the alluvial soils of an ancient glacier in the village of Sojuela.
These are essentially the same grapes that go into the dry white Bordón Viña Sole Tête de Cuvée, another historic style recovered by Franco-Españolas. Depending on the condition of the skins (2017 was very good for whites from vineyards at high elevation), cold maceration may be done. The fermentation is carried out with the skins and then stopped to leave around 30 to 40 g of sugar. The wine is then aged on the lees in French and American oak barrels. Golden yellow colour, with nutty tones and a classic ageing character; it doesn't have much sweetness to begin with, but then honeyed and preserved citrus notes emerge. The palate is citrusy, serious, not heavy at all (the low alcohol is very much appreciated), with fine bitterness and lovely nuttiness on the finish. Apart from desserts, it could work well with Asian cuisine and spicy dishes.
Grape varieties: Viura
Alcohol: 12% abv.
Bottles: 5,085
Retail price in Spain: €18 the 37.5 cl. bottle
The global shift in consumption towards white wines is prompting traditional red wine regions to make room for this category. Ribera del Duero authorised the production of whites in 2019, relying on its main white grape variety, Albillo Mayor, which had experienced a significant decline in the area since the creation of the DO in 1982. According to 2022 data, just over 410 ha are currently under vine, but the number of wineries releasing white wines is growing steadily.
2022 is the first vintage of Ferratus white, providing a good introduction to this grape variety, with rather neutral aromas of moderate intensity, but quite fond of ageing in oak. This wine has been partly aged in barrels and stainless steel tanks, and is capable of gaining complexity in the bottle (white fruits, dried herbs, smoked notes). On the palate, it is remarkable and serious, with well-balanced acidity and just the right amount of unctuousness to add weight without being excessive.
Grape varieties: Albillo Mayor
Alcohol: 13.5% abv.
Bottles: 6,542
Retail price in Spain: €18
Elías López Montero is on a mission to defend the Airén variety and has identified old vineyards in his hometown of Tomelloso that are worthy of being bottled separately. He has now released a new single-vineyard wine, the third in a saga that began with Las Tinadas and continued with La Divina. Madrigal comes from a gentle slope at 720 m elevation, with deep sandy soils on calcareous rock. The winemaking is the same as with La Divina. Fermentation begins in stainless steel tanks and ends in local, old tinajas, where the wine remains for about three months (longer in Las Tinadas) before ageing on the lees in stainless steel tanks until bottling in May-June 2022.
The wine has notes of fleshy white fruits and dried herbs. The palate is well balanced, with good texture, pleasant unctuousness and a fine bitterness on the finish, combined with a chalky aftertaste reminiscent of the soils from which it comes. If you have not yet tried this new style of ambitious Airén, you should give it a chance.
Grape varieties: Airén
Alcohol: 12.5% abv.
Bottles: 6,542
Retail price in Spain: €13
Spanish producers have carefully developed premium ranges in recent years. A better understanding of the vineyards and the trend to vinify them separately have naturally favoured the identification of parcels with a distinct character. This is exactly what Lafou, the winery founded by the Roqueta family (from Roqueta Origen and Abadal in the Pla de Bages) in Terra Alta in 2007, has accomplished with Ramis. From their property in Batea, which includes a terraced ravine and the vineyards below, they chose a plot in the flatter area, planted in 1966. The soil has fossil dunes (known locally as panal) over a clay-limestone base. The winemaking process combines different vinifications and ageing vessels. Part of the grapes are macerated and the rest fermented with the skins. Ageing takes place partly in oak barrels and partly in stainless steel tanks for about five months.
The most interesting feature of this wine is that it remains in the bottle for a minimum of 30 months before release, showing the complexity and ageing potential of Terra Alta's Garnacha Blanca, with aromas of white fruit, smoked notes and hints of petrol. It is full-bodied on the palate, with depth and weight, rich nuances, good acidity within a Mediterranean style and a remarkable length that evokes smoked notes and dried herbs.
Grape varieties: Garnacha Blanca
Alcohol: 13.5% abv.
Bottles: 1,020
Retail price in Spain: €49
Based in Porrera, in Catalonia's rugged Priorat region, Vall-Llach has been a staunch advocate of village (vi de vila) and site (vi de paratge) wines, and is behind benchmark reds such as Porrera and Mas de la Rosa - the latter bearing the grand cru 'Viña Calificada' distinction. The winery has recently refreshed its range to fully adapt to the region's zonification, while improving sustainability by, among other things, reducing the weight of the bottles. Vall-Llach's first white wine in Priorat was a Viognier blend incorporating some local varieties; it then turned to Garnacha Blanca to produce a Porrera Vi de Vila. The latest addition, Horta-Colomer Vino de Paraje, highlights the potential of Cariñena Blanca, a marginal variety with remarkable acidity and moderate alcohol content, rarely exceeding 13% abv.
The wine is fermented and aged in tinajas for three months. Despite its youth, the nose shows considerable complexity, with notes of citrus peel, white fruits and a hint of petrol. The palate is remarkably pure, almost crystalline, with a lovely salinity and length. It will be interesting to see how it develops in bottle, but you'd better hurry as production is tiny. Hopefully we will see more Cariñena Blanca in the coming years from this and other areas of Catalonia, including Empordà, its stronghold in the north-east.
Grape varieties: Cariñena Blanca and Gris
Alcohol: 13 % abv.
Bottles: 674
Retail price in Spain: €40
The strong demand for Godello has encouraged new plantings and a growing interest in the variety in Bierzo, where it is already fetching higher prices than Mencía. In a relatively short space of time, we have seen an abundance of white releases, many of which point to premium ranges. This is what Pittacum, Terras Gauda's winery in the area, is trying to do with La Maragata. This is a single-vineyard wine from a plot at 720 m elevation on slate soils on the slopes of the Aquilianos Mountains in Ponferrada, a cold area that enables Godello's growing season to be prolonged.
This is a classic barrel-fermented white, aged for 12 months in oak barrels, with a significant period in the bottle before release, ensuring a rich complexity from the first pour. The name refers to the Camino de los Maragatos, the old mule track between Galicia, Castilla and Madrid that runs through the estate. This is a lively white, with well-integrated oak and hints of aromatic herbs. Good structure without losing the fresh character of Godello, refined texture and persistence. Highly recommended.
Varieties: Godello
Alcohol: 14 % abv.
Bottles: 3,950
Retail price in Spain: €44
The Vidal siblings, Alicia and Vidal, who bottle most of their wines outside DO Rueda, are one of our favourite producers in the village of La Seca for their commitment to grape growing and their outstanding range of single-vineyard wines. This Pagos de Villavendimia comes from Comas Altas, a site rich in gravel over a clay subsoil. It is rather unusual in that it is made from Viura and aged in tinajas under flor. According to the Vidal family, the development of the yeast in the wine parallels the vine's growth cycle: "It starts to develop at budbreak and remains strong until the vines drop their leaves, then it falls and is racked into oak barrels". The wine was bottled in 2022.
It has a golden colour and is quite zesty and nutty on the nose, with notes of baked apple and yeast from the biological ageing. The palate is very dry and slightly tart, with earthy notes lingering on the finish. It may need a bit of taming and will benefit from further bottle ageing. Although it feels very different from sherry, it is a real curiosity tied to Rueda's old Pálidos.
Varieties: Viura
Alcohol: 13.5 % abv.
Bottles: 4,800
Retail price in Spain: €31
