Gómez Cruzado Blanco 2025

Gómez Cruzado works from the station neighbourhood of Haro, the historic heart of Rioja Alta, where the winery was founded in 1886. This white blends Viura at eighty-five per cent with Tempranillo Blanco, grown on vineyards around Haro. The fruit is lightly pressed, half of it with the stems still attached, which lifts the aromatic detail and holds acidity in a warm continental climate marked by cold nights. Fermentation runs on the grapes' own yeasts. Half the wine is then decanted into untoasted oak barrels and rests five months on its lees, where the spent yeast cells break down and release mannoproteins that round the palate and add a faint bready depth without overt wood flavour. The result is pale yellow with greenish glints. The nose leads with green apple and lemon, backed by pear and a light dough character from the lees. The palate is fresh and medium bodied, the acidity kept firm by the whole-cluster pressing, closing clean and slightly saline. Serve at 9 to 11 degrees in a white wine glass. It suits grilled white fish and roast chicken.