Trascuevas, Blanco, Rioja, Artuke, 2020

A debut white from Artuke, and a very exciting one at that! Raised half in concrete half in 500L used oak (no malo) with a focus on acidity and texture, Trascuevas is no fruit bomb and shows a really smart and conscientious winemaking approach not always so successful in red wine focused estates. Fresh apples some citrus, pink grapefruit and salts enliven the palate with touches of smoke, honey and flowers developing with air. There is lots to like here. Produced from 100% Viura over three different plots in three villages. Total of 1.3HA producing 5k bottles. The name is a reference to old wineries which were often below ground.