Las Llanas 2018

There is a new skin-contact white, a dark, almost orange 2018 Las Llanas Blanco Macerado produced with an unusual blend of grapes: 50% Rojal, 35% Viura, 10% Garnacha Blanca and 5% Calagraño from a very old south-facing vineyard in Fonzaleche on sandstone soils. It was macerated with the skins for only 10 days, but Rojal grapes, which are a biotype of the Malvasía Riojana, tend to go pink, so it has more color than you expect. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter oak barrels for 18 months and was then put in a ceramic and clay Clayver vat. It has an amber color, and the nose has a strong effect from the skins, dried apricots and quince, spicy and a little smoky. The palate is round and intense, but it has a spark of acidity and is super long, with very fine tannins. It's tasty and very different. Only 650 bottles were filled in September 2020.

There's just one barrel of this remarkable white wine, alas, made from an unusual cuvée of Viura, Calagraño, Garnacha Blanca and Rojal, but it's well worth tracking down. Combining chalky freshness with skin tannins, Asian spices, beeswax and quince and citrus fruit, it's complex, challenging and utterly delicious. 2020-24