Viñedos Hermanos Hernáiz : Finca la Empératriz Viñedo Singular Blanco 2016

Dried mirabelle plums and persimmon here, as well as some dried cloves and spices. Medium-bodied, fleshy and quite peachy, with some pastry notes to close. Drink now.

100% Viura. Vineyards planted at 570 m above sea level. Bush vines between 50 and 65 years old. The soil lies beneath a 40 cm layer of pebbles and rocks. Skin maceration for 6 hours. Half of the must handled in stainless-steel vats, the other half in oak barrels. Aged on its lees for 4 months, then 10 more months in stainless-steel vats and a mix of French oak barrels. Tasted blind. Delicate work, quince and apples, fluid, fresh, silky, with some nut notes beginning to appear, yet still plenty of fresh fruit. Youthfulness and maturity combined in my glass, a wine built to last. Gastronomic and full, to enjoy now or cellar. For the most demanding palates. (FC)

The boldly named 2016 Finca la Emperatriz Gran Vino Blanco is pure Viura from 50- to 60-year-old vines from their estate vineyard in the Finca la Emperatriz, from which they produce only two whites and two reds, and the rest are from grapes grown outside the property. 2016 was a cool year, very good for whites, whose grapes were picked on October 6th and 7th. Half of the wine fermented in concrete and the other half in 225-liter oak barrels, and it matured for ten months in barrique and a further ten months in concrete. It has a clean and expressive nose with notes of white flowers and fruit, chamomile, hay and pollen, with the oak neatly integrated. The palate is fresh and also quite expressive, with great freshness and a long, lingering finish. 16,752 bottles, 360 magnums and some large formats produced. It was bottled in July 2018. It will be released in February 2020.