2012 Viura

The 2012 Viura is produced from different vineyards, many of them over 50 years of age. It’s very pale-colored and displays the backward nose and discrete aromas of the Viura, with notes of apples and pears, some fennel and quince. The palate is concentrated and intense with great acidity and the oak well-integrated into the wine. This is a great example of Viura. Drink 2014-2018. Abel Mendoza, a true vigneron from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, looks after 20 hectares of vineyards that his wife, Maite, turns into some 70,000 bottles per year. They started in 1988, like many others, selling a young, carbonic maceration red, and since then, sticking to their guns, they have slowly climbed all the way to the top. Nowadays they have no less than six whites, five varietal ones (they are only missing Maturana Blanca) and the last one a blend of all five local white grapes aptly called 5V. All white varietals are produced in the same way, fermented in new French oak barriques where they stay for five months in contact with its fine lees, so tasting them together makes for a fascinating comparison of the characteristics of the different grapes. I found their quality quite similar, and preferences come down to personal taste. Even though the winery seems to somehow have specialized in whites, they also produce a full and very noteworthy range of reds. Imported by Jose Pastor Selections, Richmond, CA; tel. (510) 237-0077; www.josepastorselections.com