Valenciso Blanco 2017

Valenciso Blanco is white Rioja fermented and aged in Caucasian oak, and in this vintage it is 70 per cent Viura with 30 per cent Garnacha Blanca.

Rioja's whites once ran to two extremes: heavily oxidative and oak-aged at one end, neutral cold-fermented tank wines at the other. Valenciso sits between the two, using wood for texture rather than flavour. Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso, who had worked together at Bodegas Palacio, set up on their own in 1998 and named the winery by joining their surnames; they later built a cellar at Ollauri. The estate farms 27 hectares in seventeen plots within a ten-kilometre radius, across Ollauri, Briones, Rodezno, Zarratón, Haro and Villalba, half owned and half on long leases, and has been converting to organic viticulture. The two white grapes are pressed gently and fermented together on natural yeasts, then given a short élevage in Caucasian oak, whose tighter grain marks the wine less than French oak would.

Drinks well now and will hold for several years. Serve at 10–12°C with roast chicken, grilled octopus or a saffron rice dish.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.