The white Rioja renaissance

When you look at the numbers, white Rioja really has very little going for it.

White varieties don’t even make up 10% of the total Rioja vineyard, while the leading variety, Viura, has acquired a depressing reputation for dullness and unappealing flab. Surely there is little chance of these wines holding their own among the great whites of the world?

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 20 top white Riojas worth seeking out

To be frank, it all depends. Rioja’s whites fall into three distinct categories.

First there are the youthful, ‘made last year, drink this year’ wines, cool-fermented and fresh. While they may be produced from Viura, they can’t be accused of being flabby. They do the job, especially in our ever-warmer summers. However, these clean-cut, unoaked whites don’t speak of their origins.

At the opposite end are the great whites of Rioja. The two most famous are the long-aged López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva and the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial from Marqués de Murrieta. These are wines of immense pedigree and are deserved collectors’ items. Their reputations are established.

In between, there is a wide range – and that’s where the real interest and excitement can be found today. If you haven’t been drinking white Rioja, then this is the time to start. Our blind tastings yielded really impressive results.

Of the Viñedo Singular wines sampled, 20% were white and all of them scored 90 points or more. The Viñedo Singular category can only improve the profile of white Rioja, since it highlights the specific origins of the wine. We also tasted white reservas and gran reservas, to assess the quality of wines which declared a defined age in barrel. Again, of the 40 or so submitted, 35 scored 90 points or more – an impressive strike rate.

Also turn to the Viñedo Singular panel tasting report and you will find more that we rated highly.

In addition, the wines listed in these pages represent classics in the very promising middle ground. Wines such as Placet, originally created by Spain’s white wine magician Rafael Palacios at his family’s winery Palacios Remondo; or Remelluri Blanco, produced by Telmo Rodríguez, a miraculous blend of varieties.

White Rioja: the facts

There is a marked cycle of fashion when it comes to varieties. In 1985, 9,094ha of white grapes represented a quarter of the total productive area of 38,817ha, compared with 29,903ha of reds. By 2005, the total planting of red grapes had almost doubled to 54,567ha, while the area of white grapes had almost halved. Seven years later, 2012 was the low point, with just 3,764ha of white varieties. More recently, whites have almost doubled to nearly 6,000ha in 2020 – though reds are also increasing (59,855ha).

Total plantings of white varieties in Rioja as a percentage of the whole: 9.03%

Viura 6.16%; Tempranillo Blanco 1.14%; Verdejo 0.49%; Garnacha Blanca 0.33%; Sauvignon Blanc 0.34%; Chardonnay 0.24%; Malvasía Blanca 0.2%; Maturana Blanca 0.06%; Turruntés 0.01%; Others 0.05% including Calagraño, Jaén Blanco, Moscatel de Alejandría, Palomino and Rojal

Source: Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja

Changing times

Several producers used to make white wines but stopped because they felt out of fashion.

José Luis Ripa at López de Heredia recalls a time when their white vines were grafted over with red varieties. Now they cannot keep up with the demand for white wines. Among López de Heredia’s neighbours in Haro, only La Rioja Alta and Roda currently don’t produce a white.

Andreas Kubach MW, MD of Península Vinicultores, says: ‘Our focus is on the genetically diverse old vineyards of Tempranillo and the field blends in Rioja Alavesa. We didn’t intend to make any white Rioja, but then we realised that many parcels of Tempranillo have some beautiful old Viura planted on the hilltops which used to be blended into the reds. We are now picking these separately to see if we can make interesting wines that do not need cellar work to acquire some personality. Viura is obviously not very aromatic, but we think it can yield beautiful texture and a gastronomic wine.’

In holding back on the cellar work, Kubach speaks for a rising number of producers who have eschewed the layering of American oak in favour of a return to concrete or larger oak foudres.

Of course, white Rioja is not all about Viura. Tempranillo Blanco – the mutation discovered on a red Tempranillo vine – has seen a rapid rise in popularity, undoubtedly helped by its recognisable name.

Several of the earlier releases did not express much character, and I was not enthusiastic. However, it’s good to note that progress is being made and two of the top wines in this tasting were indeed 100% Tempranillo Blanco.

The other variety with a far longer history is Maturana Blanca, possibly the earliest mention in Rioja of a variety. There are precious few examples, but all of them hold promise.

See tasting notes and scores for 20 top white Riojas worth seeking out

Related content

Rioja vintage guide 2000-2020: drink now or wait?

The diversity of Rioja in six wines

The wines that made Rioja famous: panel tasting results