A blast of blanco

Rioja

One of the more curious developments in Spanish wine in the past decade has been the way in which the country’s foremost red wine region has become the home of arguably its most exciting white wines. Curious because, as recently as the late 2000s, Rioja’s white-wine reputation was pretty much on the floor, with plantings of white varieties at an historic low. The old oxidative white Rioja style seemed out of place in a world in which bright, aromatic, fruit-driven Sauvignon Blanc and, closer to home, Verdejo and Albariño were making all the running, and the region’s attempts to appropriate some of that stainless steelfermented, unoaked action had led to some pretty dull and uninspired wines.

The transformation of the Rioja white since that nadir has gone hand in hand with developments in the region’s redwinemaking: a movement away from the obsession with ageing times and oak as a synonym for quality towards something much more vineyard-based. A concerted attempt by the Rioja Consejo to broaden the number of varieties available to producers in 2007 also played its part in shaping today’s stylistically heterogenous scene, with the re-admission of Tempranillo Blanco, which now accounts for around 11% of the white Rioja vineyard, a conspicuous success.

A list of Rioja’s finest whites today would still likely include one of the inimitable, traditional gran reserva whites made by producers such as Lopéz de Heredia / Viña Tondonia or Marqués de Murrieta. But it would also take in a run of varied and various producers that don’t conform to a template; producers such as Sierra de Toloño, Remelluri and Remírez de Ganuza, to pick out some personal favourites, who are making white wines as arresting as anything in the world right now.

Three for your list:

• Abel Mendoza Rioja Blanco 2021 (RRP £32.99, Alliance Wine): A complex, layered 100% Viura of succulent depth and beautiful balance.

• Cosme Palacio Reserva Blanco 2018 (RRP £19.99, North South Wines): 10 months in French oak and a lovely balance of ripe fresh fruit and creamy oak character.

• Finca Manzanos Tempranillo Blanco 2021 (RRP £10.99, Alliance Wine): Juicy and tangy tropical fruit in a fresh, lightly oaked example of Tempranillo Blanco.

Ribera del Duero: Lining up with Rueda in Castilla y León

For the better part of 40 years, the two biggest and best-known wine regions in the Castilla y León region two hours’ drive north of Madrid had very clearly demarcated roles. Rueda was for brisk, pungently aromatic unoaked whites from Verdejo; Ribera del Duero was a place for deeply fruited, muscular Tempranillo red wines kept aloft by the bright streak of freshness they maintained from the position of the vineyards at altitudes as high as 800m above sea level. The two complemented each other to the extent that Rueda was seen as Ribera producers’ white vineyard and Ribera as the place where Rueda producers went to make reds.

The boundary began to blur in 2019, when the Ribera del Duero Consejo ratified the use of DO Ribera del Duero for white wines. Before that, the region’s 320 producers had been bottling their whites under the Castilla y Léon regional appellation. While only accounting for around 3% of production, Ribera del Duero’s whites are highly distinctive, featuring at least 75% of the indigenous local variety Albillo Mayor, with the balance featuring any of Pirules, Malvasia, Viura, Verdejo, Albariño, Hondarrabi Zuri, Palomino, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Treixadura and Viognier. The wines are all about textural richness with stone and tropical fruit rather than aromatic intensity and zip: in that sense they are a complementary yin to classic Rueda’s yang. But Rueda itself is developing too. While the classic youthful unoaked styles continue to dominate sales both in the UK and in Spain, a funkier side is emerging, with the wines of producers such as Vidal Soblechero and Barco del Corneta, both based in the village of La Seca, working in small batches with old vines, natural yeasts, extended lees and skin contact and neutral oak emerging as an alternative to the more commercial styles.

Three for your list:

• Valduero Blanco, Ribera del Duero 2021 (£22, The Wine Treasury): Rich, golden, multifaceted white: a brilliant introduction to the unusual charms of Albillo Mayor.

• Barco del Corneta CuCú Verdejo, Castilla y León 2021 (£18, Indigo Wines): From vines at 750m above sea level in

Segovia, this is Verdejo in rippling, pure, limpid style, filled with lemon and dill.

• Javier Sanz Rey Santo Verdejo, Rueda 2021 (£10.99, Hallgarten & Novum Wines): Classic modern (if that’s not too much of a tautology) Verdejo in a pristine, clean style from a consistently excellent producer at a good price.

Galicia: Spanish white wine’s true north

From the international success story of Rías Baixas Albariño to the aromatic domestic favourites that are Ribeiro’s white blends, and the hugely varied expressions of Godello on offer in Valdeorras and Monterrei … taken as a whole, Galicia is one of Europe’s most dynamic and varied white wine regions (its reds, notably in the dramatic, swooping granitic valleys of Ribeira Sacra, are pretty interesting too, of course).

Experimentation in Rías Baixas is leading to some fascinating new approaches to Albariño, whether it’s the use of chestnut barrels (Eulogio Pomares), granite tanks (Mar de Frades) or extended skin contact and orange wines (the go-ahead local co-operative Martín Codax’s Orange Wine Albariño, among others). Godello, too, can vary from the reductive-flinty Burgundian (Rafael Palacios) to leesy, lemony and salty-mineral (Valdesil Sobre Lías).

Elsewhere, Galicia’s best producers are taking a back-to-the-future approach with old-vine field blends in large neutral oak (Fedellos do Couto), or simply providing some of the world’s most reliably refreshing, direct, but characterful dry whites (Ailalá Treixadura). One of the rising stars of the white wine world over the past 20 years, Galicia has remained a place to watch, even as it has matured.

Three for your list

:

• Pazo de Señorans Albariño Colleccíon, Rías Baixas 2018 (£21, Alliance Wine): Five months on the lees, 30 months in bottle, and an Albariño of real depth, length and energy.

• Rafael Palacios Louro do Bolo Godello, Valdeorras 2021 (£22, Liberty Wines): From a master of Godello, a sensitively oaked, lemon-scented, Burgundian take on the variety.

• Fedellos do Couto Consabrancas, Galicia 2020 (£26, Indigo Wines): A luminous, endlessly fascinating field blend of Doña Blanca, Godello, Albariño, Treixadura, Lado and Torrontes from Ribeira Sacra.

From Catalonia to Valencia: Mediterranean adventure

If Galician whites are all about the saltyfreshening influence of the Atlantic, then the wines of Catalonia and Valencia get much of their verve from the Mediterranean. High altitude, as in much of Spain (the second-most mountainous country in Europe) also plays its part, as does the increasingly confident use of local grape varieties.

In Catalonia, two varieties have become particularly emblematic. The first, Xarel. lo, is still more familiar to most drinkers outside the region for its role as one third of the classic Cava trio. Over the past 20 years, however, it has been taken up as the flagship dry white variety of Penedès, and, perhaps because it still has a ring of novelty as single-varietal, it’s been subject to a certain amount of experimentation, with amphorae, stainless steel, oak, chestnut, varying times on skins and lees all bringing something different to wines that at their best have a distinctive chalk texture, a touch of salt seasoning, stone fruit and modest alcohol.

A similar panopoly of approach and styles can be found in the other Catalan contender, Garnacha Blanca, which has become strongly associated with the upland southern Catalan DO of Terra Alta, where, to generalise, it produces wines of stone-fruited richness and stony mineral coolness.

Heading south, into Valencia, Jumilla, Alicante and Yecla, Malvasia has enjoyed a revival, as it has elsewhere in Spain (notably Rioja) and is behind some of the region’s most distinctive and evocative wines. And Merseguera has had a similiar reputational overhaul as the local red Bobal, thanks to producers such as Mustiguillo and Baldovar 923, with immensely talented Javier Revert including both varieties alongside the profoundly obscure Tortosí, Trepadell, and Verdi in his brilliant indigenous pick-and-mix of a field blend, Micalet.

Three for your list

• Gallina de Piel, Ikigall Penedès Xarel.lo/ Malvasia/Muscat 2021 (£14.95, Liberty Wines): 85% Xarel.lo from former El Bullí sommelier David Seijas, an arresting introduction to the chalky texture and herbal-fruity charms of the Catalan grape.

• La Comarcal La Font, Valencia 2021 (£18.50, Alliance Wine): 100% Malvasia from high altitudes with extended lees ageing in concrete: a ripple of Mediterranean hillside scents.

• Altavins Ilercavonia, Terra Alta 2021 (£16.50, Jeroboams Trade): Lusciously tropical fruited, broad and mouth-filling Garnacha Blanca with a freshening streak of Mediterranean scrubland herbs.

That’s it, I’m done. Get me a oneway ticket to Madeira. Never have I encountered something that has caused me such deep gloom, anger and annoyance. Nothing that symbolises the erosion of society and culture and basic hatred that the haves have for the havenots. This would never have happened under the queen’s reign. It could only have happened in this hinterland of monarch.

Hellman’s have released some kind of fake, cynical, egg and fat-based product, and called it “Mayo”.

(Jordan says I have covered mayonnaise in (an) Amazing Lunch(es) before/covered Amazing Lunches in mayonnaise(s) before – but by god, if there’s one thing I believe in, it’s mayonnaise. Also Jordan doesn’t like mayo(nnaise) so cannot understand why it would appear as a central motif in my essays. Montaigne had habit, nature, perspective and friendship; I have yellow labels and mayonnaise and late-stage capitalism.

I gave it up, once, in some kind of foolhardy resolution and it was the only time in my life that I actively lost weight. But seriously, seriously, what is the point of being thin when you can no longer have mayonnaise? And not that shitty Heinz mayonnaise, NO, it burns, it burns, I could give that shit up, no bother.

First came Hellman’s Light: “You can’t taste the difference”. Yes you can, what is wrong with you? It quite clearly tastes of ash and misery. It tastes of lack of conviction. If you are going to allow mayonnaise into your life, just let it in, welcome the weight gain and the mayonnaise deposits around your eyes.

26. STATE OF THE MAYONNATION

It’s white, it’s wobbly, it’s life affirming. Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow will accept no substitute for the original, high-octane, leaded Hellman’s was the same thing as mayonnaise. “Oh you want whole egg mayonnaise,” mad bastard Scott told me. Let me tell you, I took the first aeroplane out of that godforsaken island.

I don’t want “real mayonnaise” either, with the finding of the food processor and the dribbling and the yellowness, I want the one true Real Mayonnaise, Hellman’s, all white and wobbly, all life affirming and food affirming.

“New Great Value Recipe” should have alerted me instantly to a New Piss-Take. But it looked so familiar sitting next to the incorrect Heinz in my local birdfood/wood/cleaning product bargain warehouse. Same gold central banner but rather than proudly stating Real Mayonnaise on it, an unassuming, understated – Mayo. Comparing the two now, the differences are clear. But I thought it was a special edition, a Cost of Living Crisis special. Are you eating cardboard pretending it’s food? Hellman’s have got you!

The “mayonnaise” itself looks like it has sat on a warm truck for too long – it doesn’t “grip the bottle” in the same way that it should. That is because it is not made with good old fashioned rapeseed oil (78%), it is made with fully refined soybean oil (65%). Oil from a soybean? Witchcraft!

It has hints of mayonnaise to it, initially – on the nose there is no discernible difference. A great dead patch hits the midpalate before essence of Real stuff surfaces once more, dissipating to brown Tuesday afternoon in February dried leaves. Finally it leaves you with a slight Coffeemate impression of creaminess. An abomination!

Twelve years of Tory rule, culminating in this. I am not surprised.

I hope they have Hellman’s on Madeira.

Vineyards in the Hunter Valley

One of the reasons I left Australia and my glittering, door-to-door encyclopedia (ask Google) salesman job was their arrogant idiocy in thinking thickened salad cream

Our goal at The Crossings is to leverage our amazing coastal position, and capture that enlivening, refreshing feeling you get from being near the ocean in every single bottle.

The Crossings wines came before Yealands was established but ended up in the Awatere Valley for the same reason – to make the best Sauvignon possible!

The Crossings is a premium offering aimed at independent wine merchants, to bring Sauvignon Blanc to their customers who are looking for classic examples at the quality end of the spectrum. Being under Yealands ownership means we can achieve greater results in terms of sustainability impact and representing Marlborough wines globally.

The Awatere is such a unique region and amazing Sauvignon Blanc is grown here.  It’s cooler and we get a lot more wind, resulting in a slower ripening. The soils are a mixture of alluvial gravel and wind-borne loess, often with a diverse composition of stone materials. All of this helps to create a Sauvignon Blanc with beautifully intense aromatics – typically on the more herbal spectrum (fresh herbs, white flowers) and with lovely minerality.

The Pacific Ocean plays a massive part in both the wines and the lifestyle here in Marlborough. Seafood and summer days are all a key part of living in this special place. The ocean also has a moderating effect on the climate for the more coastal vineyards like ours, reducing the diurnal temperature (the difference between day and night-time temperatures), and reducing disease pressure. Our coastal location allows us to produce a unique Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that’s really refreshing.

Sustainability is extremely important

The Crossings Pinot Gris 2022

Brimming with concentrated notes of ripe pear, yellow nectarine, and honeysuckle, with underlying spicy aromas. The palate is luscious and generous, showing wonderful balance between fruit and acidity with a long dry finish. Enjoy with poultry and mushroom dishes such as creamy pasta with porcini.

for us and has been in our DNA since the start. In practice it means we’re constantly thinking about how we grow grapes and make our wine with a sustainability lens – making sure we are doing things that set us up well for the future and reduce our carbon footprint. We have invested in modern winery equipment to reduce our emissions and power usage; solar panels supply 20% of our electricity needs and burning our vine prunings generates hot water for the winery. We are certified carbon zero and we’re working towards being carbon neutral by 2050.

We’ve been fortunate to source our Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the same vineyards since 1996, but as the demand grows, new vineyards have needed to be planted, and we’ve been careful to keep to areas that produce the flavours we require for The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc. I’d say our style has become more tropical fruit flavoured, with a riper style. The move to screwcaps in the early 2000s has helped us keep the lovely fresh aromatics in the bottle.

I think Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has earned a great reputation around the world for its clean and crisp style, plus it is so food-friendly it’s hard to see consumers moving away from it in a hurry. The consistency of quality and style have been critical to its success. People know what to expect when they choose a Marlborough Sav, and the drinkability means they’ll keep coming back for more. I always aim to make wines that make you want that second glass.

The UK is an important market with a lot of opportunity in the on and offtrade for The Crossings. Mentzendorff are very engaged with the brand and eager to grow it off the back of the new-look label. I’ve done a few online tastings with the UK but would love to visit in person soon.

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2022

It radiates purity of site. An enticing bouquet of flowering herbs, tropical fruits and citrus. The palate is brimming with pure fruit and bright fresh acidity that drives a complex and mineral finish. Enjoy with both fresh and cooked seafood dishes.