Vineyards and winemaking
This white Rioja is made from Tempranillo Blanco, the naturally occurring white mutation of the region’s best-known red grape. Organic vineyard work and limestone-influenced soils in the high, cool Sonsierra area encourage a balance of ripe orchard fruit, aromatic lift and clean acidity.
The grapes were gathered by hand into 15kg boxes, then vinified in stainless steel. Keeping the wine on its fine lees for two to three months introduced a discreet creaminess and greater persistence while retaining the pure, unoaked expression of the variety.
Tasting notes
Appearance
Clear pale gold with straw-yellow highlights.
Nose
Yellow plum, pear and grapefruit open into white flowers, fresh bay leaf and a cool stony note. The fruit feels ripe but controlled, with lees ageing adding a faint suggestion of bread dough.
Palate
Bright and gently rounded, combining pear and citrus with a clean, mineral line. Subtle lees texture gives the wine breadth before a dry finish of grapefruit zest, white pepper and fresh herbs.
Food pairing
Try with grilled sea bass and salsa verde, prawn and pea risotto, roast chicken with lemon, or asparagus and ricotta tart. Its clean acidity also makes it a useful partner for fish and chips with homemade tartare sauce.
Background story
Eduardo, Miguel and Javier founded Clípeo Wines in 2016 with oenologist and university professor Juan Carlos Sancha. The project’s small-volume wines reflect precision organic viticulture and careful cellar work, with each bottling intended to reveal a specific variety and site rather than a standardised house style.
Clípeo revived the rock-cut Cueva La Alcaldía cellars, where naturally steady humidity and ventilation have long supported wine maturation. Retaining the site’s open pressing vats, underground cisterns and vaulted chambers gives this modern expression of Tempranillo Blanco a direct connection to Rioja’s past.
