Amaren Malvasía 2019 White Wine

Elaboration

Amaren means "of the mother" in Basque. Juan Luis Cañas — son of Luis Cañas, one of Rioja's most celebrated winemakers — chose the name in 1995 when his mother Ángeles passed away as he was developing his first wine, a 100% Tempranillo from old vine parcels that he immediately dedicated to her memory. Two decades later, in 2016, he fulfilled his ambition completely by founding Bodegas Amaren in Samaniego, Rioja Alavesa — a winery built on cement, stone and wood, surrounding 65 hectares of vineyards between 35 and 110 years old on infertile clay-limestone soils where low yields, small clusters and exceptional fruit quality are not targets but natural consequences of how this land has always worked. The Malvasía is the most unexpected and most eloquent expression of that philosophy: a variety that Rioja has largely forgotten, grown at 550 metres on ancient soils with a unique microclimate, harvested by hand into boxes and chilled overnight before vinification to extract every primary aroma intact, then matured 21 months in small concrete tanks — the same vessels used in Ángeles's time, restored and returned to service as an act of memory and complete winemaking conviction. A wine that carries a family's story in every glass.