R. López de Heredia Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia 2016

Deep gold shading toward amber, the colour alone tells you this wine has lived. Four years in old foudres and four in bottle have drawn out layers of dried apricot, beeswax, toasted almond and chamomile, with an oxidative undercurrent closer to Fino Sherry than anything most white wine drinkers expect. Substantial in body yet kept honest by a core of firm, clean acidity. The finish is long and herb-laced, with hazelnut persisting well after the wine has left the glass. Viura at its most uncompromising, doing things its own way.