Rioja Blanco

Miguel Merino
Spain
Rioja
2022

Merino Blanco comes from La Loma, a 1.4 hectare vineyard planted in 1946 with Tempranillo, Garnacha, and a bit of Garnacha Blanca (with scattered vines of Calargrano, Moscatel, Rojal...). Mix of soils, sandy, limestone, and clay, in one of the highest plots of the region. The Viura comes from another vineyard close to it called Mingortiz, a gravelly vineyard, with north exposure. They were fermented separately in 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine matured with lees for 10 months.

94 points
"Miguel Merino makes this exceptional white from an equal mix of Viura and Garnacha Blanca, both sourced from old-vine parcels in Briones. Gently wooded in 500-litre barrels, it's a wine that’s inspired by white Burgundy, with struck match reduction, layers of lime, citrus and lanolin, and a persistent finish. 2024-30"
Tim Atkin,
Tim Atkin
Special Rioja Report 2024
93+ points
"The white 2022 Blanco was produced with 50/50 Garnacha Blanca (planted in 1946 in their La Loma vineyard) and Viura from various old plots. They were fermented separately in 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine matured with lees for 10 months. The objective is to keep the Rioja typicity but with acidity, freshness and minerality more than oak aromas and flavors. The wine has a moderate 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.2 coupled with almost seven grams of acidity, so the freshness and acidity are there. The wine is floral and herbal, and the oak is unnoticeable; it finishes very tasty, almost salty. Nothing would point at a warm year in this wine. 3,712 bottles were filled in September 2023."
Luis Gutiérrez,
Wine Advocate
Feb 29, 2024

SKU/Code: 
DB4835-22
Product Line: 
Wine
White
Varietal: 
Viura