2019 Valenciso, Rioja Blanco, Fermentado en Barrica, Rioja Alta, Spain.
The gorgeously textural and mineral fresh Rioja Blanco by Valenciso, a blend of 70% Viura, a classic native varietal and 30% Garnacha Blanca, or Grenache Blanc, is a white Burgundy like barrel fermented example with a rush of steely citrus and stone fruit, leaning on lemon oil, baked peach, a touch of apple and waxy pear on the vibrant, but creamy rich palate, along with almond paste, honeysuckle, subtle toasty oak and yeasty accents. The grapes come from very old estate vineyards, close to 75 years old now, in the cooler north of Rioja Alta between 1640–1970 feet up and set on clay based calcareous soils with each variety harvested and vinified separately. The Rioja Blanco is fermented with native yeasts in exclusively used French oak barrels and lees aged for 6 months before bottling, to capture vitality and purity. After which it was aged in bottle for another few months before release to let everything meld together, as this one shows with even more bottle maturation now. I had seen the Valenciso wines around, but this was the first time drinking one in earnest and tasted blind, it is serious and delicious stuff that could easily be mistaken for White Burgundy, which seems to be the inspiration here in this uniquely different Rioja Blanco.
Winegrowers, Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso formed their winery back in 1998, the name Valenciso is a combination of both of their last names, teamed up and have now farmed their 31 hectares of vines all organically since 2017, even though their wines do have certification, and are known for making a modern style of Rioja that has quickly caught the attention of the wine world. Rioja natives, with extensive experience in the region, are based in the La Rioja Alta, home to some of the areas best vineyards of old vine Tempranillo of which they’ve become famous for in recent years, but I was absolutely blown away with this Rioja Blanco, made in a traditional white Burgundy style. The pair explain they are careful while harvesting and picks are timed to capture the intensity of the fruit, while avoiding over ripeness or excessive alcohol levels. They say, in both their white and red wines that an aromatic lift rather than physical weight is the goal, again borrowing from the Burgundy playbook to craft distinctive and elegant bottlings. Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso took on, fortunately, some minority partners in Valenciso, including some former managers of Radoux, makers of some of the finest French oak barriques, which is influential in the wines, and a few growers in the best areas of the Rioja Alta that supply some outstanding low yielding fruit, as also seen in the end product.
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive