2023 Artuke Trascuevas Rioja Blanco

While Arturo and Kike de Miguel are best known for their exceptional terroir-driven reds, their sole white wine, the 'Trascuevas', demands just as much attention. The name translates to the "old caves" where Riojan families historically stored white wines meant for their own personal consumption. It is a brilliant, highly detailed homage to that tradition.

Sourced from three separate plots across Baños de Ebro, Ábalos, and Samaniego, the fruit comes from organically farmed bush vines that are over 50 years old, sitting on calcareous clay soils. The blend is predominantly Viura (around 90%), backed by small splashes of Malvasia and Palomino Fino. The winemaking is meticulous and patient: after a native yeast fermentation, the wine rests on its lees for 10 months, split evenly between large 500-litre French oak barrels and concrete tanks.

This release perfectly balances modern freshness with traditional Rioja weight. It is floral and elegant, opening with notes of yellow apple, pear, and citrus blossom. The time on lees builds a lovely, creamy texture on the mid-palate, but it remains taut and lively, driven by a saline minerality that carries through to a long, dry, and distinctly chalky finish. It is a serious, beautifully composed white.

95 points
"Creamy, mineral oak lifts the nose, showing roasted white sesame to the lemon zest and white fruit...Tense and flinty."
- Zekun Shuai (James Suckling)

94 points
"It's floral and elegant, with no oak in the aromas or flavors, and it has an elegant profile, with purity and balance. It finishes dry and serious, with a with a chalky sensation. This is very good indeed."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate) 

94 points
"Sheesh, this is distinctly a salty white wine, but has the juiciness and stone fruit richness to balance things out... Fragrant, flavoursome, then that crunch and pucker. Whaddawine!"
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)