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Solarce Blanco

"We try to do a true translation of our vineyard's speech in terms of wine with the grapes it gives us, thus Solarce Blanco combines all the grape varieties we grow in our vineyards of Cogotillos, Presas and Manantíos" —

Winemaker's note

Winery

CASA LA RAD

Appellation

Rioja D.O.Ca.

Grape(s)

50% Chardonnay, 30% Malvasia, 10% Viura, 10% Tempranillo Blanco; all estate-grown fruit

Altitude/Soil

520-600 meters / chalky clay soils

Farming Methods

Organic methods, Vegan

Harvest

Hand harvested into small boxes

Production

Chardonnay was fermented in 600L oak vats, other varieties were fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks

Aging

Chardonnay was aged for 6 months in 225L new French barrel, the other varieties rested in stainless tank prior to final blending

Suggested Retail Price

$19

Wine Name

Scores

Downloads

Reviews

Solarce Blanco 2016

90 (VM) 89 (I-WR) 88 (JS)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
90	Vinous Media	(fermented and aged in a combination of 600 liter French oak barrels and stainless steels tanks) Bright yellow. Fresh melon, tangerine and honeysuckle on the fragrant nose. Silky and seamless on the palate, offering juicy honeydew and orchard fruit flavors and a refreshingly bitter orange zest nuance that builds with aeration. Closes with very good, tangy lift and floral-tinged persistence, leaving a subtle floral note behind. 2019 - 2023 "Rioja Looks Back and Ahead" - February 21, 2019
89	International Wine Review	A blend of 50% Chardonnay, 30% Malvasia, 10% Viura and 10% Tempranillo Blanco, the Solarce Blanco is sourced from organic vineyards and fermented in large format oak barrels and temperature controlled inox. The Chardonnay is aged 6 months in new barriques. Medium yellow-straw, it reveals a lovely perfumed nose with stone fruit and lemon citrus, It is soft on the attack with firm acidity and a reserved palate. Good structure and a nice long finish. "Spanish Wines of Value and Quality" - June 20, 2019
88	JamesSuckling.com	This is bathed in sweet and spicy oak. There are violets and purple-fruit aromas below, but the wood really dominates. The palate is long and juicy with a rich, plum and berry core and roasted coconut to close. Drink now or hold. August 2018

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Solarce Blanco 2017

90+ (VfC) 90 (VM) 90 (TA) 90 (WB) 90 (JS) **1/2 (WP)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
90+	View from the Cellar	The Solarce Blanco bottling from Bodegas Casa La Rad is composed of a unique blend of fifty percent Chardonnay, thirty percent Malvasia and ten percent each of Viura and Tempranillo Blanco. The grapes are all grown in organically-farmed vineyards. The chardonnay here is barrel-fermented and aged six months in new French casks, with the other varieties fermented and aged in stainless steel. The 2017 Solarce offers up a complex bouquet of pear, lemon, salty soil tones, white flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is crisp, fullbodied, focused and complex, with a fine core of fruit, good soil signature, and a long, zesty and gently new oaky finish. It is hard to get used to a white Rioja being half chardonnay, but the wine has good Rioja soil tones and is really quite well made. 2020-2040. Issue #86 - March/April 2020
90	Vinous Media	Light, bright yellow. Smoke-tinged aromas of pineapple, nectarine, orange and jasmine on the perfumed nose. Silky, focused and spicy on the palate, offering fresh citrus and pit fruit flavors and a touch of vanilla. In a juicy, energetic style, delivering firm closing thrust and a lingering floral note. Raised in a combination of new French oak barriques and stainless steel tanks. 2021 – 2025 Josh Raynolds - April 2021
90	Tim Atkin MW	The altitude of the vineyards at Casa La Rad, located between 550 and 675 metres, is well suited to the production of white wines in the Rioja Oriental. Produced from lightly wooded Viura with 30% Chardonnay and Verdejo, this is leesy, well balanced and finely oaked with pear and citrus fruit flavours. 2020-23. Rioja 2020 Special Report; February 2020
90	Washington Wine Blog	The 2017 ‘Solarce’ is mainly comprised of Chardonnay and Malvasia Blanco. Right away this shows a soft mouthfeel and wonderful feel of tension that runs through the core of salted Marcona almond, kiwi, pink grapefruit and vanilla undertones. With great length and freshness, this has some good aging potential. Drink 2020-2027. Dr. Owen J. Bargreen, CS - July 2020
90	JamesSuckling.com	A well-poised white, showing some aromas of chamomile, loquat, light reduction and bread crust. Medium-to full-bodied with some handy depth and texture, as well as a fruit-driven finish. Drink now. November 2019
**1/2	The Washington Post	Score: 2.5 Stars (Exceptional/Excellent) White Rioja ages extraordinarily well, and if you find a restaurant offering an older vintage of R. Lopez de Heredia, it is well worth a splurge. This younger example is an intriguing blend based on chardonnay and malvasia, seasoned by some viura and tempranillo blanco. Powerful at its core, the wine seems to implode on itself. Delicious, with scents of talc and white flowers. Buy a bottle to try now, and a few more to forget about for a few years to let the wine open up. ABV: 12.5 percent. "Keep Summer Vibes Going a Little Longer With This $15 Crisp Spanish Rosé" - Sep. 4, 2020

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Solarce Blanco 2019

92 (VfC) 91 (TA)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	View from the Cellar	The Solarce Blanco bottling from Casa La Rad is a modern version of Rioja Blanco, as this wine is made from a rather untraditional cépages of fifty percent chardonnay, thirty percent malvasia and ten percent each of viura and tempranillo blanco. The chardonnay is barrelfermented and aged in casks, with the rest of the blend fermented and raised in stainless steel tanks. The 2019 Solarce offers up a very pretty nose of lemon, casaba melon, salty soil tones, white flowers and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and nicely light on its feet, with a good core and mineral drive, zesty acids and lovely balance on the long and youthfully complex finish. This is really a very well-made wine that is long on Rioja character, despite its fifty percent chardonnay in the blend. It is quite approachable today, though still a bit tightly-knit, and will be even better with a bit of bottle age. Impressive. 2022-2035. John Gilman – Issue 98 March/April 2022
91	Tim Atkin MW	Casa La Rad is one of my favourite producers in the Rioja Oriental. This assemblage of Viura with 50% Chardonnay, Tempranillo Blanco and Malvasía, aged in 500-litre French oak, is typically inventive, appealingly balancing pineapple sweetness with grapefruity acidity and scented spices. 2021-24 *Tim Atkin; Rioja Report* - February 2021**

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Solarce Blanco 2020

91 (OB) 89+ (VfC) 89 (WE)

Label

Fact Sheet

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
91	OwenBargreen.com	2020 Casa La Rad ‘Solarce’ Rioja Blanco- The 2020 ‘Solarce’ is soft and generous on he mouth with buttered French bread, salted melon and shades of nectarine on the palate. Round and nicely textured, this is absolutely gorgeous stuff for the price. Drink 2023-2030- Owen Bargreen - October, 2023
89+	View from the Cellar	The 2020 Solarce Rioja Blanco bottling from Casa la Rad is made from a rather new school blend of fifty percent Chardonnay, thirty percent Malvasia and ten percent each of Viura and Tempranillo Blanco. The chardonnay portion of the cuvée is barrel-fermented and raised in oak casks, while the other varietals are fermented and raised in stainless steel. The wine delivers an excellent and impressively complex aromatic constellation of pear, lemon, white lilies, acacia blossoms, sandy soil tones, orange peel and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, ripe and full-bodied, with good depth at the core, fine balance and grip, sound framing acids and a long, nascently complex finish. This wine is more expressive today on the nose than it is on the palate, and a bit more bottle age may bring out more palate complexity. It is a good bottle as it is, but if the palate can play catch up to the superb nose, it will be outstanding! 2023-2030+. John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023.
89	Wine Enthusiast	This deep-straw-colored wine has a bouquet of pineapple and flint. It offers flavors of green pear, lemon and grapefruit, with a touch of rose petal on the zesty finish. Best Buy. Mike DeSimone; Issue June - July 2023

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