Rioja 'Centenaria' Vina Ane 2023

The ‘Centenaria’ Rioja from the Viña Ane winery is a white wine with an absolutely original identity, resulting from a composite blend of 9 different grape varieties, mainly traditional but also in small part international. The name ‘Centenaria’ refers to the over one hundred-year-old vineyards from which the grapes come, planted with 9 different white grape varieties. Among these, the indigenous Viura and Malvasía de la Rioja stand out, the first also known as Macabeo while the second as Malvasía Riojana.

Viña Ane Rioja ‘Centenaria’ comes from a complex blend of the grape varieties Viura (40%), Malvasía (25%), Chardonnay (7%), Sauvignon Blanc (7%), Turruntés (4%), Garnacha Blanca (4%), Verdejo (4%), Tempranillo Blanco (4%) and Maturana (4%). These varieties come from the vineyards of El Molino, La Vejera, and Tasugueras, planted on clay-limestone soils over 120 years ago. After harvest, the bunches are transferred to the winery and gently pressed, with the must thus obtained that ferments in oak barrels at a controlled temperature of about 20 °C. Once the fermentation process is completed, the wine ages for about 3-4 months in a mix of French, Hungarian, and American oak barriques.

The Rioja Viña Ane ‘Centenaria’ has a straw yellow color with brilliant golden reflections. The nose offers intriguing hints of lychee, pineapple, citrus peel, white flowers, apricot, and ripe peach, accompanied by sweet notes of butter and biscuit imparted by the wood aging. Intense and complex on the palate, with excellent freshness and glyceric body, as well as a savory and persistent finish on the sensations perceived on the nose. The suggestion is to pair this Rioja Blanco with first courses, especially land-based ones, such as mushroom risottos or asparagus.