Remelluri 2018 Rioja Blanco 750ml

The 2018 Blanco has to be the finest white from Remelluri so far. It's powerful, characterful and elegant, with ripeness and concentration coupled with very good freshness. This unusual white was produced with a mélange of grapes, trying to erase the varietal profile; it fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank and small oak vats and matured in used barriques, foudres and concrete. It has Mediterranean notes of hay and straw, but it's powerful and serious, more like an austere Hermitage with a super-chalky palate and a very tasty, almost salty finish. It has great finesse, with power and the freshness from the high-altitude vineyards and the cool year.

Score: 95 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2021