Faustino
, the largest vineyard owner in Rioja with over 160 years of family winemaking expertise, has launched its first Faustino I Gran Reserva Blanco into Waitrose. The Faustino I Gran Reserva Blanco is a complex style that aims to provide consumers with more ways to enjoy Rioja wine, following in the footsteps of Faustino’s award-winning Gran Reserva red wine.
Branded Spanish white wine is bucking the broader market trend, showing year-to-date growth of 10%, despite the overall still wine category declining by 2.6%[1]. This demonstrates strong consumer demand for Spanish white wines.
Sara Moore, Account Manager at Amber Beverage UK says, “Our new listing with Waitrose underscores the rising popularity of Spanish whites, with the Faustino Gran Reserva range delivering exceptional taste, quality, and value to discerning wine lovers.”
Only produced when the vintage is exceptional, the wine features stone fruits, such as peach and apricot, along with floral and tropical hints like mango and pineapple, combined with nuances of oak ageing. On the palate, it is fresh with acidity and a fruity finish.
Crafted from a distinctive blend of Viura and Chardonnay grapes, the Viura is harvested from one of Faustino’s premier vineyards, with vines over 50 years old, situated at an altitude of over 600 meters, while the Chardonnay comes from vines first planted in Rioja in 1980.
José Díez, winemaker at Faustino, comments: “We are thrilled to launch this vintage into Waitrose as the quality is truly exceptional. This wine took five years to make, involving a separate fermentation of Viura and Chardonnay in new oak barrels for three weeks with different natural yeasts from the vineyard, followed by six months in new French and American oak barrels, and an additional three years of bottle ageing.
“Rioja is a wonderfully complex region and has the ability to produce excellent white wine, and we are proud to be leading the way in this exciting development for white wines from Rioja.”
The Faustino I Gran Reserva Blanco is available exclusively in 148 Waitrose branches for an RRP of £20. Consumers will get the chance to taste the wine in-store at selected Waitrose stores the weekend of the 30th October and at Waitrose’s Food and Drink Festival from 21-23 November. It also joins Faustino’s VI Tempranillo Rioja, which is listed in Waitrose.
