Conde Valdemar Tempranillo Blanco 2024

Conde Valdemar Tempranillo Blanco is a white Rioja from Bodegas Valdemar, a family winery founded in 1889 at Oyon in Alava. It is made entirely from Tempranillo Blanco, an aromatic white variety that arose as a natural mutation of red Tempranillo and was later propagated in Rioja. The fruit comes from the Alto Cantabria estate in Rioja Alta. The wine is both fermented and aged on its lees in new French oak, a choice that shapes its character: the new oak gives measured vanilla and toast and a slow feed of oxygen, while regular contact with the lees releases mannoproteins that build a rounder, creamier texture and add a bready depth. The result keeps the grape's fresh citrus and orchard fruit but frames it with weight. Expect white peach and pear with lemon, a waxy beeswax note and vanilla, toast and fresh dough from the oak and lees. The palate is broad and textured with a long, savoury finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees in a larger white glass. It suits richer fish, poultry and pork.