THE WHITE RIOJA RENAISSANCE
When you look at the numbers, white Rioja really has very little going for it. White varieties don’t even make up 10% of the total Rioja vineyard, while the leading variety, Viura, has acquired a depressing reputation for dullness and unappealing flab. Surely there is little chance of these wines holding their own among the great whites of the world?
To be frank, it all depends. Rioja’s whites fall into three distinct categories. First there are the youthful, ‘made last year, drink this year’ wines, coolfermented and fresh. While they may be produced from Viura, they can’t be accused of being flabby. They do the job, especially in our ever-warmer summers. However, these clean-cut, unoaked whites don’t speak of their origins.
At the opposite end are the great whites of Rioja. The two most famous are the long-aged López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva and the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial from Marqués de Murrieta. These are wines of immense pedigree and are deserved collectors’ items. Their reputations are established.
In between, there is a wide range – and that’s where the real interest and excitement can be found today. If you haven’t been drinking white Rioja, then this is the time to start. Our blind tastings yielded really impressive results.
Of the Viñedo Singular wines sampled , 20% were white and all of
