Oxer - Iraun 2022

Druvor

80% Viura, 9% Calagraño, 4% Garnacha Blanca, 3% Maturana Blanca & 3% Malvasía Riojana.

Tasting note

[vintage 2018]

The idea with the white 2018 Iraun is to produce a Viura with freshness and subtleness, aged in oak but without being overpowered by wood and creaminess. In reality, it's a Viura-based blend with some 20% other white varieties, Garnacha Blanca, Maturana Blanca and Malvasía Riojana, with only 12.5% alcohol and good freshness from an ancient plot of vines in the village of El Villar. It fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the fermentation started in stainless steel but finished in a combination of tinaja and a used 500-liter French barrel. The wine matured in barrel for 12 months. I was blown away by the purity and harmony of this white, its freshness and elegance. There is contained ripeness, floral aromas, elegant and nuanced. The palate is silky and crunchy; it has more tension (probably the other varieties, especially Maturana Blanca) and a dry, long and serious finish. Only 974 bottles were filled (he lost grapes to mildew) in November 2019.

Oxer Bastegieta has prepared three hectares to plant vines in Leza, at 710 meters. He has only planted 1.5 hectares, so that the vineyard is integrated with the landscape (forest), as he knows that the plants and trees share microbiology with the vines. He has 7.2 hectares averaging 90 years of age in the villages of El Villar, Leza, Laguardia, Elciego and Cárdenas, and he produces 15,000 bottles per vintage. He works organically and biodynamically, but he doesn't search for certification. I tasted a majority of 2018s, a year of challenges and great freshness, and the wines are quite floral. The 2018s have the profile he's looking for. 2019 is a more approachable and round year. I found that the oak was much better integrated in the wines I tasted this time (he's using larger barrels and older ones too), and they show more precision, cleanliness and a more intimate expression of their place of birth, grapes and vintage. Bravo! There will be a new red called Tartalo from the 2019 vintage, but the wine was not yet ready to taste.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate 

Namnet?

Iraun är Oxers hyllning till sitt folk och språk (Euskera). Ordet "betyder att uthärda". Trots alla hinder och utmaningar höll det baskiska folket ut och de höll det äldsta språket i världen vid liv. På etiketten avbildas detta som en Uroborus, en orm som äter sin egen svans. Evighetens emblem. "I min början är mitt slut," T.S. Eliot.

Vingårdar

En 101 år (1919) gammal vingård på 1 ha belägen i Elvillar (Rioja Alavesa) på 600 meters höjd med kalkhaltig lersammansättning. En blandad tomt av Tempranillo, Viura och Garnacha Blanca som endast ger 3000 kg per hektar.

Vinframställning

Den alkoholhaltiga jäsningen börjar i rostfria ståltankar, med endast inhemsk jäst, och avslutas i amforor och använda franska ekfat på 600 liter. Vinet åldras i ytterligare 12 månader i fransk ek och buteljeras ofiltrerat.