WINE OF THE WEEK: Bodegas de la Marquesa Valserrano Rioja Blanco 2024, Rioja Alavesa, Spain

£16.75, Private Cellar

White Rioja is still a bit of an unknown to many wine drinkers, which is not so surprising when you consider that white grape varieties account for less than 10 per cent of the region’s vineyards, but Rioja Blanco sales are rising as consumers around the world switch from red wines to white.

One of the things that has held it back is identity. People often don’t know what to expect from white Rioja.

Is it a really oaky, long-aged traditional style or a fairly neutral modern dry white that goes from vineyard to bottle in next to no time? Or is it somewhere in the middle, like Bodegas de la Marquesa Valserrano Blanco 2024, a wine that brings the two together?

The 2024 Valserrano starts with citrus and blossom then gathers pace, adding elegant textured cream and subtle vanilla-accented oak and almond to the lemon sorbet and sweet-apple fruit.

The supple texture and discreet oak come from the French oak barriques in which the wine finishes its fermentation and where it stays for a further five months on lees with weekly bâtonnage (stirring).

The quality of the fruit comes from the low-yielding, 40-plus-year-old Viura vines, together with a small amount of Malvasia, hand harvested in Bodegas de la Marquesa’s vineyards on the poorest soils high up in Villabuena in the heart of Rioja Alavesa.

It’s an estate of 65ha that has been in the same family since the late 19th century and is now owned and run by fourth generation Juan Pablo de Simón (no relation) assisted by his three children.

Single-estate bodegas such as this are still in the minority in Rioja, where the norm is for bodegas to buy in at least some of the grapes they need. The advantage of vineyard ownership is control over quality, particularly in difficult vintages such as 2024.

This is a wine to enjoy as an aperitif (it goes well with anchovy-stuffed olives and salted almonds) and to serve with food such as fish, shellfish, sushi, risotto, iberico ham and light, creamy pasta and chicken dishes, including salads such as chicken caesar. 13%. Empty bottle weight: 460g.

Bodegas de la Marquesa Valserrano Rioja Blanco 2024, Rioja Alavesa, Rioja, Spain

£16.75, Private Cellar

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