viejas blancas 2021

Vallisto

The fruit for this highly quirky and delicious white is directly pressed into old 500 litre barrels and fermented there with only airborne wild yeasts, using dry ice to keep the juice cool throughout. No nutrients added and no acidity correction. A blend of Riesling, Ugni Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc vines more than 70 years old grown on decomposed granite soils, the wine spends 12 months in stainless steel before release, only a couple of thousand bottles produced.

Not so much dry as it is arid! And perhaps one of the few wines anywhere that noses distinctly of rhubarb, in a nice way. This is super lean, ultra vertical, highly quirky and utterly delicious. Be prepared for a heavy dose of tartaric crystal in the bottom of the bottle due to lack of filtration.

91/100 points Tim Atkin’s Argentina Special Report 2023 (2022 vintage)