Plácet Valtomelloso 2023

Plácet Valtomelloso is a single varietal Viura from Palacios Remondo in Alfaro, in the D.O.Ca. Rioja. The grapes come from the La Montesa estate on a long, gentle slope of Mount Yerga, farmed by organic principles, with predominantly calcareous soils and vines around thirty years old. Those chalk rich soils and the older, low yielding vines concentrate the fruit and give the wine its length, while the altitude and cool nights on Yerga hold acidity in a warm part of Rioja. The fruit is picked by hand with a strict selection and partially destemmed at the winery. The wine ferments and then ages eleven months in oak barrels, and that extended time in wood, with slow oxygen exchange through the staves and ongoing lees contact, builds texture, a nutty, creamy complexity and a fine oak frame while allowing the Viura fruit to develop. At 14 per cent it is a serious white with weight. It is pale, luminous yellow. The nose shows ripe pear, green apple, white peach, hazelnut and a beeswax note. The palate is broad and layered, with vanilla and toasted bread from the barrel over a firm, fresh line. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees in a large glass.