If You're Not Drinking Rioja's Whites, What Are You Even Doing?
I keep saying that Rioja Blanco could be the world's next great white wine region. Here are 20 bottle recommendations that make the case.
This is the last of our five-part Friday “Winter White” series. We started off with Loire chenin blanc, followed by albariño from Galicia, then pinot blanc from Alto Adige, and finally whites from Friuli. This final installment focuses on whites from Rioja. Be sure to upgrade to paid to read all of our Winter Whites recommendations and tasting notes.
Everyone who follows this newsletter knows that I am a fierce advocate for the new-wave wines of Rioja. Too many wine lovers still think of Rioja as big, oaky reds from tempranillo that are reliable but unexciting, especially in an era when big, oaky reds aren’t in fashion. That’s a shame, because the Rioja wines I’m excited about are something completely different: freshness and energy over wood and power, cool wines grown at higher altitudes, blends of several grapes over monovarietal tempranillo, a commitment to organic or biodynamic farming, and, most importantly, a sense of place that’s not dictated by barrel aging.
As part of this new way of thinking about Rioja, I have a particular fondness for Rioja’s whites. In fact, I’ve been talking about Rioja as the “next great white wine region” for some time now. It’s also fascinating how many new-wave producers are now using white grapes in the red blends. As we move deeper into the climate change era, a bit of white in the mix could help keep Rioja reds fresh and full of acidity.
But it’s not as if white wines are a new thing in Rioja. “There is a whole other Rioja that came before what we know as ‘Rioja’,” said Bryan MacRobert of MacRobert & Canals. “In the old days, there were a lot more white wines, and much more varietal differentiation.”
Those who are already fans of classics like López de Heredia’s Viña Gravonia, CVNE’s Monopole Classico, or Abel Mendoza 5V Blanco already acquainted with the potential of Rioja’s whites.
To be clear, Rioja is not Germany or Austria or the Loire Valley. The whites here will always be bigger, riper, more muscular. The main white grape in Rioja is viura (aka macabeo). Classic Rioja whites based on viura can be full-bodied, with an array of orchard, stone, or tropical fruit notes. But good viura is more about texture, and it’s hard to describe. “The thing about viura is the texture in the mouth, super nice and complex with good acidity. It’s never going to have big aromatics,” says Arturo de Miguel of Artuke.
You also find quite a bit of malvasia and garnacha blanca (grenache blanc) and even more obscure local white grapes such as maturana blanca (from producers such as Elena Corzana, one of my favorite Rioja faves).
All of the top new-wave wineries—such as Artuke, Sierra de Toloño, Miguel Merino, Olivier Rivière, Cuentaviñas, and other—all are making at least one great white wine.
Among my favorite Rioja white producers is Victor Ausejo, whose winery in the village of Alberite is the size of a garage. Before becoming a winemaker, Ausejo worked as a plumber until the financial crisis of 2008. Now he makes wine in the overlooked subregion of Rioja Oriental, aka Rioja Baja. Ausejo grows several hectares of whites like garnacha blanca. “We don’t come from a wine family. We’re not a dynasty,” he told me. “We aren’t making tempranillo. We’re making whites in a small village in Rioja Baja. We sell more whites than reds. I’m sure people think, ‘What the f**k are we doing in Rioja?’”
The answer to that question is: Making world-class white wine.
20 World-Class Whites From Rioja
Below are my Rioja Blanco recommendations ranging from under $20 to over $100. For paid subscribers only.