V.L.A.V. Custero 2024

Wine description for V.L.A.V. Custero 2024 by Tentenublo

Colour & appearance

Luminous, delicate cherry red with violet reflections and a silky sheen – a wine that signals freshness even in the glass.

Nose

Unusually clear and precise: sour cherry, morello cherry, wild raspberry and redcurrant stand at the centre, behind them morello cherry and a fine wild cherry impression. Deliberately restrained rather than opulent. A cool, chalky-saline line lends modern transparency, while delicately roasted coffee and a subtle plum note resonate quietly. An aromatic profile that suggests rather than explains – and gains depth with air.

Palate

Grippy, silky and astonishingly taut. The acidity, unusually elevated for Rioja, provides backbone and freshness, while the fine-grained tannin supports without dominating. A perfectly straight course with saline, chalky tension at its core. Drinkable, enticing, with length and contemporary elegance – 14.5% alcohol that you barely notice.

Finish

Long and reserved: the fruit remains discreet, accompanied by a hint of juniper, pepper and fresh parsley – finely interwoven, never loud, with a salty aftertaste.

Terroir & origin

Roberto Oliván has been working since 2011 in Viñaspre, a district of Lanciego in the windswept high-altitude vineyard sites of Rioja Alavesa. His roughly thirty small plots lie at up to 620 metres above sea level, on poor soils of calcareous marl and sandstone. The constant wind keeps the vines, some of which are a hundred years old, naturally healthy; the organically farmed vineyards yield grapes of concentration and mineral precision.

Grape variety & vinification

An unusual cuvée of Garnacha, Viura and Tempranillo – red and white grapes together, as was long the tradition in this region. Oliván vinifies each plot separately, using indigenous yeasts and a gentle, minimalist hand in the cellar.

Food recommendations

The taut acidity and fine spice make this wine versatile: with grilled lamb with herbs, tapas with chorizo and Pimientos de Padrón, mushroom pan with polenta or aged Manchego. Slightly chilled at 14–16 °C, it shows its best side.

Special features

The Custero breaks with the cliché of heavy, wood-dominated Rioja: here freshness, line and chalky tension count instead of volume. A red wine with an almost white nerve – and proof of why Oliván’s wines regularly achieve 90 to 95 points.