2023 Miguel Merino Blanco Rioja 6pk 6x750ml

Miguel Merino has been one of Rioja Alta's most respected names since 1994, when Miguel senior — after years exporting Spanish wine around the world — founded the winery in Briones, on the southern side of the Ebro. His first wines shipped in 2001. When Miguel senior died in 2021, his son Miguel junior and daughter-in-law Erika took the reins. The work continues.

This is the only white wine the estate makes: 70% Viura, 30% Garnacha Blanca. The Garnacha comes from vines planted at the top of La Loma vineyard in 1946, at 534 meters altitude — old fruit with nerve and structure. In 2023, the family purchased two plots on red sandy soils in the paraje of Los Martires, deepening their hold on the best terroir in the zone.

2023 was not an easy year in Rioja Alta. After a dry winter, spring came with rainstorms that required hard work in the vineyards to avoid disease. Summer was one of the driest and warmest ever, with many vines suffering. The wines that survived are tense and mineral, shaped by struggle.

Each variety was harvested by hand in the early morning, transported in small crates, then settled for 24 hours before being racked into 500-liter French oak barrels for alcoholic fermentation.

The wine rested on fine lees for ten months, each variety kept separate until the final blend just before bottling. The result is yellow-green in the glass, with aromas of lemon peel, white flowers, and brioche. The palate opens with freshness, then builds nerve and volume through the mid-palate.