Ontanon Rioja Blanco DOCa

The Ontanon Rioja Blanco DOCa brought my long term hunt for a cracking value versus quality oaked white Rioja off to a flying start. As a style of wine, white Rioja holds a special place for me. It started my whole love of wine with the 1996 Marques de Murrieta Reserva white Rioja from my Oddbins days. It was such a unique style and prompted me to embark on my WSET courses. I trawled London buying as many bottles, at the cost of two hours work each back then, as I could find. It was scare on the ground and this was down to people not knowing about white Rioja. Even 5 years ago white Rioja wasn’t really on most folks’ radars. I’m very happy to see that there has been a seismic shift on this front recently. It’s not exactly a feeding frenzy but a distinct trend change. Further good news is that, minus the very top wines, you don’t have to get a second mortgage to enjoy them either. In fact they represent something of bargain in the oaked white category. The Ontanon Rioja Blanco DOCa is a really mellow, rich and rounded white. Produced solely from Viura grapes it has undergone 4 months in American oak barrels. These, just like with many of their red siblings, impart subtle vanilla and brioche notes alongside ripe pineapple, pear, jasmine and crisp citrus flavours. To coin one of my favourite phrases that I’m sometimes mocked for, it is a ‘marmite’ style as in you will either love it or hate it. I’m obviously a big fan and if you are new to the style then this would be a great place to see if it is for you or not, without breaking the bank. For aficionados of the style, this is a true humdinger and a bargain to boot.