Summertime – and that means white wine. It’s something that Spain does so well. Crisp, chilly Verdejos and Albariños, salty manzanilla Sherries, these are the mainstay of a summer lunch. Yet when the sun shines we should remember that along with these vibrant young whites, Spain makes wines worth cellaring and rediscovering after several years or more in the shade.
There’s a view that Spain has two great cellar-worthy white wines: Castillo Ygay, by Marqués de Murrieta; and López de Heredía’s Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva. Both Riojas, they have become deeply fashionable. However, their very success obscures the exciting reality of what is happening today in Spain. Nowadays there are a number of wines which need time in the cellar to reach their top character. Not as long-lived as Ygay, but determined escapees from the ‘buy today, drink today or tomorrow’ treadmill.
That these two long-lived icons are made predominantly from Viura (with Malvasía, 3% in the former case and 10% in the latter) is notable. For Viura, known elsewhere as Macabeo, can be disappointing and drab. This underlines a key feature to remember if you are keen to buy wines for cellaring: so much depends on the vineyard, the climate, and the producer. Even after the wine has spent years in the cellar, the influence and judgement of the people behind it remain discernible.
Wine writer and DWWA judge Cristina Alcalà spells this out: ‘Spain was a traditional red wine country in production and consumption. It turned towards white wine when it discovered the power of certain native varieties. Furthermore, it had producers with sensitivity, who weren’t worried about experimenting or losing face, who were able to make white wines with cellaring potential.’
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