Latest picks: white wines and summer-friendly styles

In this article, we review a selection of new releases tasted in recent months. White wines dominate, showcasing how producers are responding to evolving market trends. Unzu Wines, Julián Chivite's new project following his departure from the Perelada group is a good example of this. He launched a rosé in the 2023 vintage and has added a white wine to the range this year. “I don't want to make reds in Navarra; ageing is a very different process,” he told us recently.

But not everything that glitters is white. We have also reviewed a rosé, a generoso from Rueda that combines biological and oxidative ageing, and an old vine Garnacha from Navarra, as well as some Rioja reds from specific origins. The wines are listed in alphabetical order.

La Gargantilla Garnacha Blanca 2024 White (Rioja)

Having earned a place in some notable white Rioja blends, Garnacha Blanca is now gaining further recognition in the region, thanks to a growing number of producers making varietal wines. Among them are Víctor Ausejo in the Iregua Valley, as well as established names such as Ostatu, Izadi, Montecillo and Vivanco's La Maldita.

Valdemar is the latest producer to embrace the variety. Their efforts are centred in the Ocón Valley, in Rioja Oriental, a classic area for red Garnacha thanks to its elevation and temperature shifts during the ripening stage. Two hectares were planted at 620 m elevation in the area's distinctive pebble and clay soils, and this is the first wine produced from five-year-old vines. Around 35% of the wine was aged in 500-litre French oak barrels for four months, while the rest was kept in stainless steel tanks. With moderate alcohol, the wine reveals Garnacha Blanca's white fruit notes (water pear and melon) alongside Mediterranean aromas of dried herbs and mint. It already has some weight on the palate and nice acidity, with a cleansing bitter finish. As pleasant as this first vintage is, it will probably gain further complexity as the vines get older.

Grape varieties: Garnacha Blanca
Bottles: 4,300 
Alcohol: 12% abv.
Price: 18 €
Score: 90

La Nobla 2023 Tinto, Legardabidea Viticultores (Navarra) 

It is encouraging to see old vines being recovered, especially by skilled viticulturalists like Javier Eraso, R&D director at Vitis Navarra, and agronomist Alberto Gambra. Although their day-to-day work involves selecting and replicating vine material for new plantings, the pair have joined forces to launch Legardabidea Viticultores, a small project focused on traditional vineyards in Valdizarbe, the northernmost sub-zone in DO Navarra.

According to Gambra, La Nabla vineyard, named after the eponymous site in the village of Eneritz, is truly special among their plots. Located next to the Camino de Santiago, this north-facing vineyard has a higher planting density than the standard in the area and despite the small surface of just 0.34 hectares, it covers two types of soil —alluvial and clay. The remarkable diversity of biotypes of Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Roya and, to a lesser extent, Tempranillo is another distinguishing feature.

With fewer than 1,000 bottles produced and 30% of stems, La Nabla is a deep red wine with notes of wild fruits (blackberries and raspberries), tomato plant and scrubland. It is a medium-bodied wine with a slightly warm character, good texture and aromatic complexity on the finish, with herbal, sarsaparilla and ligneous nuances that reinforce its wild character. Passion for viticulture is reflected on the label, which details not only the soil types but also the Rupestris de Lot rootstock.

For the 2024 vintage, the partners plan to produce 1,400 bottles across three wines: two single-vineyard reds and a Valdizarbe red blend sourced from various plots. 

Grape varieties: Garnacha Tinta
Bottles: 666 
Alcohol: 14% abv.
Price: €45 
Score: 93

La Rellanilla 2023 Red, Viña Salceda (Rioja)

Since joining the Perelada Group to oversee winemaking outside Catalonia, David González has focused much of his attention on Viña Salceda, the Rioja winery previously owned by the Chivite family. Alongside a modern high-end red, plus  a Crianza and a Reserva, González developed the winery's first white wine in the 2023 vintage. This was followed by La Rellanilla, a village wine from Laguardia, which has initiated a new  parajes (lieu-dit) range. According to the new regulation for vineyard sites  in a different location than the winery —Viña Salceda is in Elciego-, La Rellanilla carries the label Viñedo en Laguardia.

The wine takes its name from a 5.5-hectare vineyard planted in 2020 in one of the most elevated areas of Laguardia at 658m above sea level on predominantly chalky soils. Its signature identity stems from two key elements: the fresh fruit character, imparted by the elevation and associated with this village, and the winemaking style of fermenting uncrushed grapes, similar to the carbonic maceration so deeply rooted in Rioja Alavesa. After six months of ageing in concrete tanks, La Rellanilla is a fruit-forward, easy-drinking wine designed for pure enjoyment.

Grape varieties: Tempranillo
Production: 15,000 l 
Alcohol: 14.5% abv.
Price: €15 
Score: 90

La Rous 2023 Rosé, Dehesa el Molinillo (VT Castilla)

After selling Cirsa, the gambling and casino operator, in 2018, the Lao Gorina family set Nortia Capital, an investment holding company spanning the real estate, financial and construction sectors. Nortia is also involved in agriculture through Dehesa El Molinillo, a 4,200-hectare estate located on the southern edge of the Montes de Toledo, within the Cabañeros National Park. A dehesa is an agroforestry system typical of southwestern and central Spain, which is used for extensive livestock grazing. The estate produces honey, an internationally award-winning olive oil, and most recently, wine.

The 9.5-hectare vineyard was initially planted with Tempranillo and international varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Touriga Nacional. Following the arrival of viticultural consultant Juan Antonio Leza, the Tempranillo vines were replaced with Graciano and white varieties such as Chardonnay, Garnacha Blanca and  soon, Albillo Mayor. The first vintage in 2022 yielded a red blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon rosé. Fermented and aged in barrel (see photo above), the wine has evolved well in the bottle. The 2023 La Rous is a rich, full-bodied rosé that can play the role of a medium-bodied red wine in warmer months. Cabernet's strong character is tempered by the choice of making a rosé, the estate's elevation over 700m that favours slow ripening, and the impact of shallow, acidic soils that prevent a soft, easy expression of the variety and provide plenty of sapid notes on the finish. Jean Marc Sauboua (Altos de Rioja) is the winemaking consultant.

Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon
Bottles: 3,528 
Alcohol: 14,9% vol.
Precio: €20 
Score: 91

Our Hands by Jesús Mendoza 2023 Red (Rioja)

Jesús Mendoza, technical director at Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza, and his wife Cristina Remírez de Ganuza have launched their own project in Rioja. It is focused on five hectares in the Sonsierra area, particularly the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, where they own plots in sites such as Valseca, El Bombón and Valgrande. The wine is produced at Remírez de Ganuza, reflecting the strong ties with owner José Ramón Urtasun. Over the last few years, Urtasun and Mendoza have raised the quality of Remírez de Ganuza’s whites and introduced a new line of subtle, refined reds.

Our Hands is the first wine made by Jesús and Cristina, and it makes a statement about the Rioja region that Mendoza knows best. It is an ambitious debut  priced at €100 with fewer than 1,000 bottles made. The grapes are sourced from goblet-trained vines aged over 50 years in El Bombón and El Rayo, both with poor, stony soils and a high limestone content. In keeping with the new generation of young Rioja producers, Menodza seeks crisp, crunchy ripeness to bring out the fruit's many nuances and expression. Aged for a year in 228-litre French oak barrels, typical of Burgundy, the wine still feels youthful, with red and black fruit aromas over an herbal background. It is elegant on the palate, offering an excellent texture with hints of liquorice and a long finish with notes of black pepper. The texture and the spicy character truly stand out.

Grape varieties: 95% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, Mencía
Bottles: 812 
Alcohol: 13.5% abv.
Price: €100 
Score: 94

Rodríguez & Sanzo Palo Norte Verdejo 2020 (Rueda)

After releasing a Verdejo aged under flor, Javier Rodríguez continues to explore Rueda's generoso style and its links with Jerez. Inspired by the return journeys of 19th-century northern Spaniards who emigrated to Andalusia, this wine is a Castilian interpretation of a palo cortado. It begins with three to six months of biological ageing under a veil of yeasts, followed by a longer oxidative ageing in Lustau sherry casks. The final touch is the addition of a hundred-year-old wine found in sherry casks buried in the cellar of the house that Rodríguez's grandparents bought in Rueda.

Notes of salted almonds, preserved fruit and smoke blend with Verdejo’s hallmark ripe fruit and dried herb character. At 13.5% abv, this wine is much lighter than sherry, with higher acidity —hence the hint of tangerine coupled with creamy, nutty undertones. This is a complex and balanced wine with a clean, pure and well-defined character and a very long finish. It will surely appeal to sherry lovers and sommeliers in search of distinctive pairings.

Grape varieties: Verdejo
Bottles: 2,700 Alcohol: 13,5% vol.
Price: €67 
Score: 93

Unzu Bâtonné 6 Meses Sobre Lías 2024 White (IGP 3 Riberas)

In his latest personal project, Julián Chivite holds all the aces. He relies on vines from his hometown in Cintruénigo, and makes the wines at the local cooperative, which is just opposite the family winery that Perelada Group acquired in 2017. He has also resumed his collaboration with consultant Valerie Lavigne, who worked alongside Denis Dubourdieu (1949-2016) for almost two decades advising on Chivite's wines.

Following the release of a Provençal-style rosé in the 2023 vintage, this Chardonnay has been produced using grapes from 22 hectares of rented vineyards from the cooperative. These include several trellised and goblet-pruned plots in cool sites in Carratudela, Molengo and Los Portilloswith an average age of 30 years. The wine is aged thoroughly on its lees: 40% in new French oak barrels and the rest in stainless steel tanks.  Aromas of dried herbs and white fruit lead to a finely crafted palate with a slightly creamy texture, fresh bitterness and good persistence. The contour-shaped bottle is eye-catching,  though not the easiest to store.

Grape varieties: Chardonnay
Bottles: 27,000  
Alcohol: 13% abv.
Price: €18 
Score: 92