Winemaker Notes
Great food matches include caramelized eel with buttercream, acid apple and foie layers. Steamed and roasted red bream, its collagen, red shrimp royal and roasted leek. Grilled-roasted scallop with egg flower, smoked potato and white truffle.Triple cooked Poularde de Bresse roll with chestnuts and Kumquat tangerine.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Steely and floral nose of white nuts like macadamias, meringue, star fruit and a touch of green pineapple. Round and full-bodied but surprisingly bright and lively, with vibrant acidity providing the backbone. Really long and pure, while there is also suppleness and fleshiness. From the five-hectare Capellania vineyard, where most of the vines are over 100 years old. One of the best viuras out there. Lovely now, but you should seriously consider aging this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2019 saw an early start of the harvest, with low yields and small grapes with concentration but balance. The 2019 Capellanía, an update on the long-aging whites from yesteryear, was produced with grapes picked on the 10th and 11th of September. The must fermented in concrete and matured in French oak barrels for 23 months, followed by another 13 months in concrete. It did not go through malolactic. They increased the time in concrete after aging in barrel, which seems to have worked very well; the wine is subtler, more elegant and balanced. It's direct, precise, fresh and elegant, with a vibrant palate and certain lightness. It has energy and light.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Seamless, salty, briny acidity glides along the palate of the medium-bodied 2019 Capellania, an old vine Viura fermented in concrete that is generous in mouthfeel, with a soft, supple finish.
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Vinous
Viura is known for its bold palate and refreshing core. This presents a unique challenge for winemakers, who often emphasize one aspect over the other. However, the 2019 Capellanía achieves a remarkable balance of both. Sourced from Pago Capellanía, a vineyard planted in 1945 within the highest plateau of Finca Ygay in Rioja Alta, the 2019 aged for 23 months in French oak barrels. Exhibiting a yellow hue with a golden sheen, it offers fruity aromas intertwined with a subtle oak backbone, accentuated by notes of caramel, flan and a hint of fennel. On the palate, it is both creamy and refreshing, leaving behind a lingering, subtle chalky texture.
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Wine Spectator
A racy burst of acidity creates an initial linear feel on the palate of this intriguing white, which quickly broadens to reveal layer upon layer of finely meshed flavors, from rich notes of toasted almond and crystallized honey to elements of tangerine peel and baked pear fruit, dried mint and beeswax. The lively acidity works in tandem with an underlying streak of salinity that drives through the lasting, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2030.
Commonly found as a single varietal white or blended with Malavasia and Grenache Blanc, Viura is a vital, leading white grape of Rioja. It also thrives in the lower elevations of the Penedes, where it takes the name Macabeo and adds aromatic and fruity notes to the traditional Cava blend with Parellada and Xarel-lo. Somm Secret—Called Macabeu in France, this versatile grape is prevalent in Roussillon where it makes still, sparkling, dry and sweet wines.
Highly regarded for distinctive and age-worthy red wines, Rioja is Spain’s most celebrated wine region. Made up of three different sub-regions of varying elevation: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. Wines are typically a blend of fruit from all three, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta, at the highest elevation, is considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier Rioja Oriental produce wines with deep color and higher alcohol, which can add great body and richness to a blend.
Fresh and fruity Rioja wines labeled, Joven, (meaning young) see minimal aging before release, but more serious Rioja wines undergo multiple years in oak. Crianza and Reserva styles are aged for one year in oak, and Gran Reserva at least two, but in practice this maturation period is often quite a bit longer—up to about fifteen years.
Tempranillo provides the backbone of Rioja red wines, adding complex notes of red and black fruit, leather, toast and tobacco, while Garnacha supplies body. In smaller percentages, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) often serve as “seasoning” with additional flavors and aromas. These same varieties are responsible for flavorful dry rosés.
White wines, typically balancing freshness with complexity, are made mostly from crisp, fresh Viura. Some whites are blends of Viura with aromatic Malvasia, and then barrel fermented and aged to make a more ample, richer style of white.