156 of 500 Grapes (Maturana Blanca) – 344 grapes left
- Grape: Maturana Blanca
- Alcohol: 13%
- Wine: Los Corrales de Moncalvillo
- Vintage: 2019
- Winery: Bodegas Corral
- D.O.: Rioja
- Location: Navarrete, La Rioja, Spain
- Date: 2/19/23
- Distributor: Luxo Wine
Curious Synonyms: Ribadavia, Maturano,
Nerd Alert: It’s one of Rioja’s first mentioned varietals appearing in texts as early as 1622. This obscure, light-skinned grape ripens early and is rarely made into single-variety wines. The recovery of this almost extinct grape started in 1988 via a project done by the Regulatory Council of D.O. C. Rioja.
Personal Note: This grape is an unsung hero in a land where Viura claims the throne and I think it has nothing to envy it. It’s yet one more case of a grape that almost dissappeared and slowly but surely is making a comeback. Now, let’s be clear, according to what I learned in my conversation with Dr. Vouillamoz, in theory color doesn’t matter. Maturana Blanca and Tinta are the same grape by dna and Maturana Tinta is Trousseau which is my #101. By that logic a chunk of my list would dissappear as repeat grapes. So I’m posting this because it is recognized as a different grape but not by dna. I’ll be making some decisions and/or revisions to my project soon based on this knowledge. After all, this project was born not just to get to 500 but to educate myself in wine varietals.
So as per the wine, we start looking at a very beautiful golden color. One would think it was an older wine. I will say this, typical of great riojas, this wine needed time to open up. Time I didn’t give it right away and for that, there was not aroma to enjoy. On palate it was great. Creamy, elegant and well balanced. Here’s a cool note. I left 1/4 of the bottle, took the air out and left it in the fridge. Opened it the next day and the aromas of that wine were splendid. Candied bananas, caramel, white pears. The wine spents 12 months on barrel and 3 months in bottle.
I can say without a doubt, I just found one of my top 10 grapes of the year.
Have you tried this grape?
