Horizonte de Exopto Blanco 2015

"The one white (so far) is the 2015 Horizonte de Exopto Blanco, produced with grapes from the scattered white vines intermixed with the reds in the old vineyards they work in Ábalos (12 different plots), usually in the poorer soils to balance yields. It's produced in a slightly oxidative way with a majority of Viura, 10% Garnacha Blanca and 5% Malvasía Riojana along with some other white varieties, all fermented together. Fermentation started in stainless steel without added yeasts and finished in barriques with an élevage of 12 months in contact with the lees, which were stirred during the first six months in barrel. There are some citrus and caramel aromas with good ripeness, and in a warmer and more Mediterranean vintage like 2015, it goes through malolactic, so the style of cooler years (2013, 2014, 2016) and warmer years is different. Here, there is more volume and more texture, but to keep the austerity of the soils, they look for freshness and harvest early, so the style of long and linear wines is always there. These whites welcome some time in bottle. 3,000 bottles were filled in September 2016".