Bodegas Luis Cañas, Rioja Blanco, DOCa, Spain, 2024

Producer Profile

Bodegas Luis Cañas has been at the heart of Rioja since 1928. This Estate has played an enormous role in shaping the Alavesa’s – and Rioja’s – modern incarnation.

Comprised of some of the region’s best and highest altitude vineyards, the soil in this area is poor and produces small bunches, perfect for making highly concentrated Rioja wines. Vineyards are split into hundreds of individual plots, planted with gnarly old bush vines on chalky-clay soils, sheltered under the magnificent Sierra de Cantabria range. Rioja Alavesa has the largest number of ‘Viñedo Singulares’ in Rioja and Luis Cañas is an exemplary producer of single vineyard wines from the region. The Estates' Director of Viticulture, Rubén Jiménez, is celebrated for the important research he has conducted in identifying special sites in the Alavesa, as well as recovering an extraordinary number of ‘lost and ancient’ varieties in the family’s vineyards. He was named Grower of the Year by Tim Atkin MW in 2023 for the vital work he is doing to advance and safeguard the region. In 2016, Juan Luis, son of Luis Cañas opened Bodegas Amaren in the neighbouring village of Samaniego, and named his son, Jon Cañas, winemaker.

Viticulture

Bodegas Luis Cañas is a traditional family run firm that dates back to 1928, although they've grown grapes and made wine on a smaller scale for more than a century. Today, it is one of the leading winegrowers in Rioja Alavesa. The grapes required are sourced from over 270 hectares, between owned and controlled, of old high-altitude vineyards. The vines are nurtured following an agricultural system implanted by the family that makes maximum use of natural products to limit the environmental impact.

Winemaking

Upon reception at the winemaking cellar, the grapes are cold macerated at 6ºC for 12 hours in order to obtain all the aromatic potential of the varietal. After pressing and "débourbage", the wine is fermented under strict temperature control in order to avoid exceeding 15ºC and the wine losing its aromas.

Tasting Note

A beautiful golden yellow colour with green tinted reflections. On nose it is elegant with pear and apple and some tropical fruit as well as hints of bush and fig tree leaves. Fresh, elegant and smooth but really well structured.

Food Matching

Ideal as an aperitif, with tapas, salads, poultry and light fish dishes.