Finca Allende, Blanco, Rioja 2019 - 75cl

White Rioja rarely gets talked about the way the reds do, which is exactly why this one is worth finding. Mercedes and Miguel Angel de Gregorio built Finca Allende in the hill town of Briones, in Rioja Alta, and their Blanco comes from Viura vines with a good deal of Malvasia in the mix, many of them now well over fifty years old.

This is the barrel-worked style of white Rioja, not the fresh tank version. After a gentle press the wine goes into French oak barrels for around fourteen months. The first seven are on the lees, stirred twice a week to build texture, then it is racked off and left to settle for another seven. That patience shows: the oak is folded in rather than laid on top.

The colour is a bright lemon-gold. The nose runs through grapefruit and ripe pear into peach and greengage, with toasted almond and a light vanilla note from the barrel. The palate is broad and layered, plush without going heavy, threaded with citrus acidity that keeps it lively, and closing on a long, faintly spiced finish. It is drinking well now and will reward a few years in the cellar, gaining a waxier, more savoury character as it goes.

How to Serve

Serve at 10-12°C in a full-bowled white glass; too cold and the texture and oak nuance disappear. Open textured whites like this one benefit from twenty minutes of air, so pour a little ahead of the meal.

Where to Drink It

Barrafina on Drury Lane, alongside the Spanish counter cooking. Sabor in Mayfair for its Galician seafood and Castilian roasts. Noble Rot in Soho, which always keeps a serious white Rioja or two on the list.

Food Pairings

Roast chicken with a bit of char is my first choice here, the wine has the weight for it. It also works with grilled hake, a plate of jamon and manchego, or a paella heavy on prawns and chicken.