Montebuena Rioja Blanco 2021

The other night as I sat down to watch some lectures on wine, a friend of mine surprised me at the door with this bottle of white wine, a Montebuena Rioja Blanco vintage 2021. So as we sat learning about how great the grape is, we snuck in a wine tasting. I had never had a Rioja before, and I learned that this wine was named for the region of Spain it was from. This particular bottle was 80% Viura grape and 20% Tempranillo Blanco. It cost $20 and had an alcohol content of 12.5% ABV. We popped this bottle in the freezer for about 5 minutes and drank it semi-cold.

From what I could gather online, this wine exhibits an apple and banana aroma, with subtle citrus notes. It supposedly starts out acidic and evolves into a silky sweet texture as it is swallowed. I have never heard of a white wine evolving in this way and wanted to put the review to the test.

The first thing I noticed was the lovely light straw color of the wine. The aroma was not something I could easily put my finger on. I noticed pear and citrus, as well as a lingering floral scent I could not identify. Another way I could describe it is sharp, like having a citrus zest's oils expressed right into my nose. However, the wine itself was rather muted. The taste itself was not crisp as I expected from the aroma, and I picked up on notes of lime, green apple, and a mineral-like taste. As the review mentioned, it started off pretty tart, but slowly developed into a smooth sweet finish, which was not what I anticipated. The wine body itself was rather light, and did not have a strong alcohol taste.

From page 187 of Wine Folly, the constituent grape variety in this wine, Viura, is identified as the primary grape in Spanish Rioja Blanco. Common notes to this variety include honeydew, lime peel, lemon verbana, tarragon, and hazelnut. The lime peel and tarragon correspond very well with my experience. Furthermore, on page 175 of Wine Folly, Tempranillo is a Rioja grape variety described as having notes of cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. However, this particular variety usually makes red wines, while Tempranillo Blanco is a mutation of this grape.

I enjoyed this wine. It was a very interesting selection, and one that makes me want to try more Spanish whites. It was very different from my experience with common whites like Chardonnay and Riesling. I wonder if I would like this wine a lot colder, since I enjoyed the acid level while it was semi-cold. Still, I could definitely see myself drinking a nice cold glass of this along with an arugula salad or a mild cheese.