2014 Bodegas Bhilar Rioja Blanco Phinca La Revilla

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 95.3 points

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  4/1/2024 - stinkycook Likes this wine:

  A really interesting wine. A tiny bit sherry like, without the excess alcohol. Going back to the store tomorrow to try and get some more.

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  10/11/2023 - PSPatrick wrote:

  Only 2,398 bottles produced. Heavy bottle, with a huge punt. 14% ABV. Bright medium amber colour. Nuts, almond, orange peel, caramel, oak spice, and vanilla, with great acidity, and very good length. Great intensity. Only the texture seems a tad rustic, and there is some oak bitterness on the finish. Declined steadily over the next three days. Quite unique, half way between traditional white Rioja and good Sherry, without the flor character. Still, while different, and fascinating to a certain extent, this will not become a favourite of mine. 92(-)(?)

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  8/11/2023 - forceberry wrote: 96 Points

  100% biodynamically farmed Viura from the 0,68-hectare La Revilla vineyard planted to red and white varieties in 1925. The fruit is destemmed, foot-crushed and spontaneously fermented on the skins. When the wine is fermented dry, it is racked off the skins into 225-liter French oak barriques and left to age for six years. During this period, the barrels are not topped up, they didn't develop any flor and the wine was racked once. 14% alcohol. Bottle #610 of total 2498 bottles.
  
  Quite deep and wonderfully luminous bronze color. The complex nose feels open, expressive and fragrant with sweet, fruit-forward yet somewhat oxidative aromas of orange marmalade, some phenolic resinous tones, a little bit of caramel, light lifted notes of nail polish, a hint of ripe nectarine, a touch of honeysuckle and a whiff of savory old wood. The wine feels broad, ripe and slightly viscous on the palate with a full body and fascinating, very complex flavors of caramel, some ripe apricot and apple jam notes, light toasty notes of sweet oak spice, light lifted nuances of nail polish, mineral hints of wet rocks and tangy salinity and a touch of browned butter. The rather high acidity lends some sense of freshness and structure, keeping the wine nicely in balance. The finish is rich, persistent and somewhat oxidative with a very complex aftertaste of evolved caramel and bruised apple tones, ripe apricot, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of saline minerality, light lifted notes of nail polish VA, a hint of peanut butter and a touch of tertiary umami character.
  
  An exceptional Rioja Blanco that straddles the fine line between very traditional and post-modern. The overall feel is that of a traditional white Rioja that has been aged for years on end in oak barrels, lending the wine profound sense of depth and complexity. However, the subtle skin-contact nuances and understated toasty oak tones lend a sense of modernity to the wine - although these qualities might not be out of place in a historical Spanish white wine, which might've been fermented (at least partially) on the skins as well. Whatever the case is, this is a stunning wine. It is quite big and ripe - even slightly fat at times - yet so very balanced and harmonious at the same time. With its noticeably oxidative overall character I find it a bit hard to see how this wine could evolve any further from here, but at the same time I suspect that this oxidative character helps the wine to stay alive for gods know how long. Drink or keep for however long you want to. This is outrageously good stuff - need to check out some other Bodegas Bhilar wines as well!

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  1/21/2023 - CptJake Likes this wine:

  Drank at PM & Vänner's wine fair.
  Probably my favourite wine of the whole day. Such a beautiful expression of Viura that has been aged 6 years on oak without topping up. A wine that could probably last decades in the bottle and that keeps surprising with each and every sip. Truly a masterpiece!

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  6/6/2022 - Lars1974 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Oak, cola-candy and floral tones. Not your avarage white rioja but damn it's charming. The six years on oak without topping up the wine really shows but not as an oxidative sherry. Haven't tasted another wine like this. Really, really good!

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