100% Tempranillo Blanco

Food pairings: Pinchos and tapas, vegetable rice, grilled octopus, creamy soups and grilled vegetables; also lovely by the glass.

Winemaking: The grapes were harvested at optimum aromatic ripeness and pressed without oxygen, then settled naturally and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine spent four months on its fine lees, stirred every week during the first months.

Vineyards and terroir: The fruit comes from selected vineyards in the Iregua valley, on the slopes of Moncalvillo and in the Montes de Clavijo, on both sides of the valley, at 565 to 700 meters. The soils are mainly deep ferrous clay with a sandy surface layer: the clay gives richness and volume, the sand freshness and fluidity. 2025 was an unusual year in Rioja, with heavy rain in winter and through the growing season and strong mildew pressure that cut yields, followed by a dry, not overly hot ripening and harvest that gave fresh, rounded wines.

Family and history: Nivarius is the white-wine winery of Palacios Vinos de Finca. Its name is a Latin term for the natural pit where snow was kept all year. The project is devoted to Rioja's white grapes, recovering the nearly extinct Maturana Blanca and old Viura and Garnacha Blanca vines, and working passionately with Tempranillo Blanco.

In the pictures: The Nivarius winery and its vineyard below the cliffs; and old bush vines in winter. Photographs from Palacios Vinos de Finca.