Abel Mendoza Viura 2023

The serious and somewhat austere 2023 Viura was produced with this star white variety from Rioja, which is the same grape known as Macabeo/Macabeu elsewhere; it's a somewhat neutral variety that takes oak quite well, keeps the freshness and ages nicely in bottle, especially after a long élevage in oak and has produced some stellar old wines in the past. It's a little neutral and dismissed by some as a workhorse variety. They took the grapes from individual vines scattered in vineyards averaging 40 years of age. As the aim of the white varietal collection is to showcase the character of each grape they do a similar vinification and élevage, fermenting them in barrels (but the labels don't mention it anymore) and aging the wines in those barrels with the fine lees that are stirred periodically for five months. It's ripe and reached 14.5% alcohol, higher than any of the other wines in the white varietal collection, but keeps very good freshness and balance through a pH of 3.3 and 5.04 grams of acidity. The wines are quite shy when young and tend to show the varietal character with some time in bottle. This is serious and a little austere, clean and precise, with a round palate but without any heaviness. It has a very fine texture, a chalky feeling and an almost salty twist in the finish. They tend to bloom with time in bottle. Keep. 2,700 bottles produced. It was bottled in late March 2024. (Luis Guitérrez)