Marqués de Riscal Limousin 2024

Marques de Riscal moved into white wine in 1970, choosing Rueda for its Verdejo, and this Limousin bottling is aged in French oak from the Allier forest. Rueda sits high on the plains of Castilla y Leon, where a Mediterranean climate meets a strong continental influence: cold winters, hot dry summers and a wide gap between day and night temperatures. That diurnal swing is central to the style, cooling the grapes overnight so they ripen slowly and keep the fresh acidity and aromatic snap that mark good Verdejo. The wine spends six months in French oak, a period of barrel contact that adds a light spice and vanilla frame and a fuller body while the fruit stays in the lead. It is bright gold, with a nose of white peach, pear and citrus peel lifted by white flowers and a trace of vanilla. The palate is dry and broad, the ripe stone fruit carrying the grape's characteristic herbal, faintly bitter twist, with fresh acidity holding a long finish. At 14 percent it has real weight for a white. Serve at 11 to 12 degrees. It suits grilled fish, roast chicken, pork and hard cheeses.