La Maldita Brut 2021

The very pale sparkling white 2021 Garnacha Blanca Brut is the first wine of its type produced with this grape in Rioja, as sparkling wines in Rioja are quite new and the grape is still quite scarce. It's a young sparkling refermented in bottle, where it was kept with lees for 166 months. It's a brut wine, with around 10 grams of residual sugar, 12% alcohol, a pH of 3.0 and 7.1 grams of acidity, the acidity compensating the sugar quite nicely. It has a clean and somewhat varietal nose with notes of waxy apples, flowers and subtle lees and yeasty sensations. The palate is fresh and balanced, with a dry sensation. 5,370 bottles produced. It was disgorged in June 2023. - Luis Gutiérrez.