Compania de Vinos del Atlantico Rioja Sierra de la Demanda Blanco

Developing more quickly than I was hoping for. Advanced-looking copper-golden colour. Dried fruit, ripe citrus, bruised apple, apple peel, tangerine peel, lanolin, almond, chamomile, ginger, spice notes, and salty minerality, with linear acidity and building length. Medium to full, with a waxy texture. Some bitterness. Certainly unique. Developed, drink now. (NR)

80% Viura and 20% Grenache Blanc, from north-facing, high-elevation vineyards. One month on the lees. Aged for 14 months in a combination of French oak and acacia wood. Only 12% ABV. Josh Raynolds’ note of November 2015 still is pretty much on spot except that the wine is more mature now: Medium golden colour. A great spine of underlying intense citrus builds the basis for orchard fruit, apple peel, tangerine peel, bruised apple, almond, fennel, chamomile, ginger and spice notes, …