Monopole Clásico Rioja Blanco Seco 2019/20
With heritage dating back over 100 years, Monopole is Spain’s oldest white wine brand, first produced in 1915. The name Monopole comes from the founding brothers’ enthusiasm for wines from Burgundy and was produced as a young, fresh white wine which was in stark contrast to the white wines produced at the time in Rioja, which were golden in colour and oxidised. The Viura grapes used to produce Monopole Clásico are all hand harvested from the Villalba de Rioja vineyard, near Haro in the Rioja Alta region. At the winery, the grapes were softly pressed, as they did in the '70s the must goes into concrete tanks for their debourbage, then into stainless steel tanks for the alcoholic fermentation. Once this is completed, the wine went with its lees into vats and barrels of 300 litres and 500 litres that have been previously used by two, three or more wines. The wine was then aged for around 8 months with regular tastings. The uniqueness of this wine lies in the contribution of a small quantity of manzanilla, developed by the traditional method of biological crianza under "velo de flor". Straw yellow in colour the nose is complex, with not only fruits such as pear, apple, white currant and white flowers but also dried fruits and spicy notes. On the palate there is salinity and an elegant acidity which provides freshness.
