Nivarius: from privileged territories, inimitable Rioja whites
Ancestral method
8 June 2021
Lethargy in the vineyard: what happens when the vine sleeps?
17 February 2022
Nivarius is the only winery in Rioja that exclusively produces white wines. But to highlight only this would be an understatement. Because Nivarius is also Palacios Vinos de Finca's ambitious project to recover Rioja white varieties and thus ensure the future of our wine-growing heritage.
The result of this vocation is the work we are doing with the white maturana, a native variety that is practically extinct in the region and which is beginning to recover from old vines, which is one of the pillars of Nivarius. It is considered to be one of the oldest varieties in Rioja because it is recorded in the Glosas Emilianenses de San Millán de la Cogolla.
If we study the classification of vines, it is similar to the Galician Albariño and genetically close to the Savagnin from the Jura, with small, tight bunches. Here we explain how we work with this grape which is one of the most interesting autochthonous varieties in Rioja.
At our Bodega Nivarius we also focus on old Viura vines. Known in Spain as macabeo, viura is the main white variety grown in Rioja, and offers very fresh and round wines. Our old viura vineyards are more than 60 years old and are located between 500 and 700 metres above sea level on the slopes of Moncalvillo, Alto Najerilla and Nalda.
Another of the pillars of Nivarius is Tempranillo Blanco, a variety that we are finding increasingly more expressive and attractive. Our white tempranillo vineyards are located in Albelda de Iregua, Nalda and Montes de Clavijo.
In keeping with our name -Nivarius in Latin means "of the snow"-, based on the influence of the continental climate and oriented mainly to the North, we seek privileged territories capable of producing inimitable wines, where fruit and freshness predominate, essential elements of wines with character and ageing capacity.
This completes a way of working that always seeks the best expression of the different Rioja terroirs, with the minimum intervention and an agriculture that respects biodiversity. In short, honest winemaking with the raw material to enhance the authenticity of Rioja wines.
Obsession? Maybe. But this is the only way to achieve exactly what we want from our wines, that they express the terroir on which they are grown.
And the result is...
A 100% Tempranillo white wine from vineyards located in the cool Iregua Valley and on the slopes of Moncalvillo, on terroirs with a predominant presence of clay, making an honest, fresh and round wine that shows the virtues of the variety.
Our interpretation of Riojan classicism made with Viura, white Maturana, white Tempranillo and white Garnacha, fermented and aged in Bordeaux barrels on its lees. A white wine rich in nuances, balanced, versatile, silky and long in the mouth.
A combination of viura from old vines on the limestone slopes of the Sonsierra combined with the sands of the Alto Najerilla and the freshness of white maturana from Nalda make for a powerful white wine that is aged in large capacity wooden casks to produce a structured, fresh and rounded wine that promises a great evolution in the bottle.
A unique plot in the Alto de Najerilla, on the top of a hill between Badarán and Baños de Río Tobía, with a poor soil of partially degraded sand with limestone flakes from the bedrock, we discovered, almost by chance, this Viura from old vines. A very fresh viura, with balsamic notes and delicate aromas, aged on its lees for just over a year, which gives it finesse and silkiness.
Lía by Nivarius Pét-Nat
Natural sparkling wine made using the ancestral method. From a selected vineyard of the Grenache variety, fermentation is completed inside the bottle and it is barely kept on the lees to preserve the fruity notes of a wine that surprises with its freshness and intensity of flavours.
