Nivarius La Nevera Maturana Blanca Rioja Blanco 2019
£27.45
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The wine
An extraordinary white made entirely from the rare Maturana Blanca grape. Refreshing, with lovely texture and yet spectacular tension. Notes of apple, pear and quince are layered with hints of salinity, herbs and a touch of beeswax. A variety that was practically extinct.
La Nevera means the icehouse, which suits an estate named after the Latin for chilling snow. Varietal Maturana Blanca is a genuine rarity: the grape was documented in Rioja in 1622, dwindled to almost nothing, and was only authorised again in 2007. High-altitude vineyards on the Yerga mountain give it the acidity.
The producer
Nivarius
View all Nivarius winesNivarius was established at Tudelilla in Rioja Oriental with an unusual purpose for the region: to make white wine seriously. Rioja is overwhelmingly red, and whites account for well under a tenth of production.
That has changed since 2007, when the appellation authorised nine additional white varieties alongside the traditional Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. Among them were Maturana Blanca, a native Rioja grape documented as far back as 1622 and reduced to almost nothing before its rescue, and Tempranillo Blanco, a spontaneous white mutation of Tempranillo found on a single vine in 1988. Nivarius work with both.
The vineyards sit high on the slopes of the Yerga mountain at up to 700 metres, which is what allows white grapes to keep their acidity in one of the warmer corners of Rioja. The estate name comes from nivarius, the Latin for the snow used to chill wine, and the whole project is a bet on a category the region has barely explored.
