2016 Bodegas Tobia Oscar Tobia Blanco Rioja Reserva Spain

Rioja Blanco is one of our favorite types of white wine in the world. The category accounts for just 5% of Spain’s wine production, and the best bottles are marvelously complex, as weighty and age-worthy as white Burgundy, and very difficult to come by. 

That’s why our excitement was off the charts when we discovered the 2016 Bodegas Tobía Óscar Tobía Blanco Reserva. A blend of white Tempranillo, Viura, Maturana Blanca, and Malvasia squeezed from the poor, rocky soils in Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja, it shows the ripeness born of the Spanish heat and the vibrancy of an Atlantic-cooled climate.

Wines like this are in high demand on the fine dining circuit. “Every sommelier and wine merchant I spoke to said that white Rioja was a ‘must-have’ on the list,” noted a recent Decanter article. “They all noted that it was a great, and better value, alternative to white Burgundy.” 

It’s light gold in the glass, with a nose that seamlessly interweaves grilled Meyer lemon, white peach, salted caper berry, and white flowers. The palate is rich, full-bodied, and bright, showing a citrus fruit core accented with savory touches of herbs in a salted olive oil marinade.

Like red Rioja, Rioja Blanco can contend with about as much oak as you can throw at it. The team at Bodegas Tobía ferments this cuvée in 70% French oak and 30% new American oak, aging it on the lees for 18 months, and stirring to maximize the creamy mouthfeel and round smoothness.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 14.10%
• 2 hours
• Now – 2033
• 60% Tempranillo Blanco28% Viura10% Maturana Blanca2% Malvasia
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork