Basquevanas Blanco Arlanza - Albillo & Palomino

Vin Jaune Jura style uit Arlanza gemaakt door Olivier!

I almost thought I was tasting a white from the Jura when I put my nose in the glass of the golden colored 2011 Basquenavas, a 50/50 blend of Albillo and Palomino from different plots of very old, small vineyards on stony soils in the appellation of Arlanza. The explanation came when I read the technical sheet, which revealed that the wine had been aged under a veil of flor yeasts for some 70 months in barrel, so a truly biologically aged white with the funky, yeasty and nutty character and the chalky tannins and dry mouthfeel of the limestone soils. This is a unique, characterful wine that he has not been able to repeat ever since, and even in this, the only vintage produced, he could only fill some 230 bottles. It was bottled in August 2017. Scarcity has its price too.

Olivier Rivière of Rioja fame also produces wines in Arlanza, but not all wines are bottled every year, as there are some challenges in the region. I tasted an amazing white aged under flor à la Jerez or Jura. Luis Gutiérrez 94/100