Bodega Loli Casado - La Cancilla, Blanco, Rioja Alavesa, Spain (2022)

TASTING NOTES

The finesse of this wine is immediately apparent. The nose is a bouquet of white flowers, underripe pineapple and apple. A stunning chalky texture, refreshing saltiness alongside a delicate creaminess and a touch of lemon. Totally Burgundian. Only 600 bottles produced!

From vines planted in 1945 and situated at an elevation of 460m in an E-W direction. Classic goblet pruning on rocky soils with sandstone slabstones and shallow topsoil.

The best clusters are chosen from select peak vines for each vintage, ensuring the wine is top quality each and every year. Free run must is cold macerated and then aged in french oak with battonage and fine lees aging creating the excellent creamy mouthfeel present here.

When Loli’s grandfather started the winery over a century ago, the land was also used to cultivate cereal grains alongside vines and olive groves. During the 1970’s her father, Luis, replaced some of the grains with more vines and incorporated the new growth into the existing vineyards, and expanded the wine production. Honing his craft throughout the 1980’s, Luis produced some crianza wines, a feat that elevated the small artisan winery. In the 2000’s Loli and her husband Jésus took over the reins. Loli, who grew up in the midst of all aspects of the winery, hung up her nurse's hat and worked on keeping the winery in touch with new emerging trends and the demands of the modern wine industry. The duo never sacrificed the respect for the vineyards, manual harvesting and care for the environment.

Located in Rioja Alavesa, the bodega’s vineyards are at high elevation (450-520m), generally protected from the cold north winds by the Sierra de Cantabria and are on fairly steep slopes with southern orientation. The slopes provide optimal sunlight exposure and drainage to avoid waterlogging.

The soils are varied - mostly chalky-calcareous limestone, some ferrous all with varying degrees of clay, sand and rocky compositions. As a result, the vineyards are grouped into 5 plots subdivided into 52 subplots.