{"product_id":"jade-gross-chiguita-tempranillo-blanco-2025","title":"Jade Gross Chiguita Tempranillo Blanco 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTempranillo Blanco is one of the newest grapes in one of Spain's oldest regions. It appeared in 1988 near Murillo de Río Leza, when a grower noticed a single cluster on a Tempranillo vine turning golden-green instead of black at veraison. Spain's agricultural research service propagated it, and the Rioja Consejo Regulador authorized it in 2007. Gross sources hers from the Alto Najerilla, the cold western valley that climbs out of Rioja Alta toward the Sierra de la Demanda, where the vines sit on clay-ferrous soil. That iron-rich clay and the valley's altitude are why a grape that could easily turn broad and tropical instead comes in tight and citric.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Tempranillo Blanco, only the second time Gross has bottled it on its own. Hand-harvested on September 10, 2025 and pressed as whole bunches with no crushing, the juice went directly into a single 500-liter French oak barrel to ferment and stayed there another six months on its fine lees. One barrel, start to finish, which is why the bottles are individually numbered. Yellow apple, quince and grapefruit pith up front, then anise and a waxy, lanolin texture from the lees, and a finish that turns stony and long. At 14 percent alcohol it has real weight, but the acid holds the line. Drink it now or leave it three years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Chiguita program is how Jade Gross is teaching herself Rioja's white grapes. Alongside the blended bottling she makes three separate microvinifications, roughly 150 bottles each of Tempranillo Blanco, Viura and Garnacha Blanca, handled identically so she can watch each variety age on its own terms before deciding what belongs in a blend. The fruit comes from a deliberately scattered network of growers, from limestone around Labastida to the cold Alto Najerilla valley, because she thinks most drinkers see one facet of a region that holds many. Her palate is the part of the chef that carried over intact; she has said she finds aromas in wine that never appear on the WSET tasting wheel, and she holds the Diploma. What did not carry over is the tempo. In a kitchen she could taste a dish, fix it, and cook it again the next day. Here the answer arrives a year later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe barrel and the lees mean this can handle fat. Bacalao al pil-pil, where the emulsified olive oil and garlic meet that waxy texture directly. Grilled turbot or halibut with nothing but lemon and good oil, letting the stony finish do the work. Roast chicken thighs with garlic and thyme. Or a wedge of aged Idiazábal with quince paste, which picks up the fruit and the salt at once. A serious white for people who have gotten bored of the obvious ones.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wine Down Selections","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51247712338143,"sku":null,"price":68.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8220187.jpg?v=1787526007","url":"https:\/\/denverwinemerchant.com\/products\/jade-gross-chiguita-tempranillo-blanco-2025","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}