Spanish Viura/Macabeo

Consistent scoring across such an impressive range of vintages, styles and regions confirms the quality and diversity to be enjoyed in these food-friendly Spanish whites

- REPORT BETH WILLARD

Some tasting days are better than others and this flight of Viura-based wines started with a highlight: the very first wine turned out to be one of the day's best, scoring 95 points. Despite its inherent flavour neutrality, Viura went on to show off its adaptability and ageing potential in this diverse tasting of one of Spain's most important white varieties.

The majority of the wines in the tasting came from Rioja and the region starred, with solid quality across the board. Eight of the top 10 wines were Riojan in origin and underwent oak ageing, as well as further development in bottle. These wines displayed appealing palate weight, gaining complexity over time while maintaining the region's hallmark freshness.

Viura's ageing capacity really thrilled the judges. Andrew Johnson was struck by the considered winemaking. 'There are some wonderful examples of aged styles done with care,' he explained. 'These deserve praise.'

Likewise, Matthew Forster MW was encouraged by the winemakers' stylistic choices. 'I was braced for oak, but we found contemporary styles,' he said. 'Even with heavy oak, the wines are balanced.'

But the wines weren't limited to a hegemony of style. An interesting point of comparison came by way of low-intervention and skin-contact wines from Catalonia. A brisat (skin-contact wine) from Montsant featured among the top performers (see opposite): a wine that shows off its Mediterranean character with ripe stone fruit and dried herbs, such as thyme and rosemary. And two skin-contact wines from Costers del Segre (Recommended, both scoring well at 89pts, so not featured in this report, but see decanter.com 'Panel tastings') offered up heady aromas of quince and marmalade, supported by vibrant tannic energy.