2021 Bernabeleva Vinos de Madrid Navaherreros Blanco, Castilla La Mancha

The 2021 Navaherreros Blanco de Bernabeleva is a white blend of 70% Albillo Real and 30% Viura/Macabeo from old vines on decomposed granite soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter oak barrels and a 2,000-liter oak foudre. It has very good ripeness and aromatic complexity, with notes of yellow fruit, pollen and herbs, moderate alcohol (12.5%) and very good freshness.

91 points Luis Gutiérrez robertparker.com

Organic. The estate white blends 70% Albillo and 30% Viura. The Albillo is drawn from the estate’s original plantings (around 90 years old) in the Cantocuerdas vineyard, a sandy, granite-rich, highland terroir of this magical mountain country. The Macabeo comes from more recently acquired sites with a vine age of around 30 years. Both varieties are harvested by hand, and each sees a measure of skin contact before wild yeast fermentation in a mixture of stainless steel and large French and Austrian oak. Stylistically, it’s a step up in intensity and complexity, with a long, silky palate drenched in fresh stone fruits, wild herbs and a savoury lick of salty minerals. The pricing puts many a white from more fashionable regions to shame!