Finca Allende Blanco, Rioja, Spain

阿連德酒莊白葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：5721

The 2019 Allende Blanco is powerful and ripe, sourced from a warm and dry year that produced a wine with 14% alcohol and very good freshness with a pH of 3.15. This classical blend of Viura with some 5% Malvasía Riojana (Alarije) comes from vines in Briones; it fermented in new French barriques, where it matured with the lees and batonnage twice per week and a further seven months without lees after racking. It's smoky, oaky and spicy and has a round palate that is balanced by very good freshness. A white Rioja in the style of the traditional ones with potential to develop in bottle. 36,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2021.

Tasting the 2018 Allende Blanco next to the 2019, one could see the differences in vintage, as the wines were produced in exactly the same way—a blend of Viura with some 5% Malvasía Riojana (Alarije) that fermented in new French barriques where it matured with the lees and batonnage twice per week and a further seven months without lees after racking. This is a full 1% lower in alcohol, and it comes through as sharper and fresher with 13% alcohol and very good freshness with a pH of 3.15. It has a reductive personality with some flinty notes and hints of gunpowder that I like very much. It's a bit austere and closed; it's never going to be an exuberant wine but should develop more nuances in bottle. 36,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2020.

I tasted the 2017 Allende Blanco next to the 2016, so it was interesting to compare the healthy and late 2016 with the problematic (frost and low yields) and early 2017. De Gregorio started picking the 19th of September, over 20 days earlier than in 2016. The wines were produced the same way and always a Viura blend with some 5% Malvasía Riojana, fermented and matured in new French barriques but this time with a slightly shorter élevage of 14 months. This shows more developed aromas than the 2016 with diesel-like notes and a spicy and smoky twist. The fruit has a ripe touch without being overripe, and there is a pleasant bitter note in the finish. Yields were lower, so there are 24,000 bottles of this wine. It was bottled in April 2019.

I had two vintages of some of the wines to taste side by side, which is always interesting to see the effect of the different years in the wines. The white 2016 Allende Blanco comes from a late harvested that started here the 10th of October, and the wine is fresh and balanced, with good acidity and good ripeness, keeping 13.5% alcohol. This is mostly Viura with 5% Malvasía Riojana (Alarije). It fermented with indigenous yeasts in new French oak barrels, where the wine matured for 14 months, the first seven with lees that were stirred twice per week. There is a lot of freshness here and a hint of classicism that could remind you of the whites from yesteryear. The palate is dry, with chalky minerality and a long and tasty finish. This is subtle and elegant and has nice balance; it should develop nicely in bottle. 36,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2018.

The 2015 Allende Blanco, mostly Viura with some Malvasía Riojana (Alarije), fermented with indigenous yeasts in new French oak barrels, where it aged with the lees and batonnage twice per week for seven months and a further seven months without the lees after it was racked. It has a classical oaked white Rioja nose, with some nutty undertones, spice, dried flowers and a hint of petrol. The palate has focused, intense flavors, and the oak is nicely integrated. 36,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2017.