Baigorri BELUS also obtains 96 points, trophy and Gold at the IWC 2022, the highest recognition for a Rioja Alavesa wine.
The International Wine Challenge, known as the “Oscars of the wine world”, has just published the results of its latest tasting held in London.
The jury of the most influential competition in the world has awarded 13 trophies to Spanish wines, two of which went to Baigorri wines. Baigorri Fermentado en Barrica obtained 95 points, trophy and Gold medal, being chosen as the Best Rioja white wine, while Baigorri BELUS was awarded 96 points, trophy and Gold medal, being selected as the Best Rioja Alavesa wine.
Thousands of wines from more than 50 countries participated in this latest edition of the competition, with an international blind tasting panel that included masters of wine, master sommeliers, importers, distributors, oenologists, prescribers and specialised journalists.
Baigorri Fermented in Barrel
Made from 90% Viura and 10% Malvasía, it has become one of the 13 Spanish wines awarded in the competition. The jury described it as “a modern and very intriguing take on a traditional Rioja style, combining the citrus of Viura with the perfume of Malvasia warmed by toasty oak. Complex, rich, layered with a chalky saline finish”.
For its production, all the grapes are destemmed by hand, berry by berry, using vibration and weight selection tables. It is macerated for a few hours with the skins and then pressed. The must then undergoes clarification to remove any suspended solids and leave the must clean.
Fermentation and ageing is carried out in new French oak barrels, together with its lees, with regular stirring for 6-8 months.
Baigorri BELUS
One of the winners of the IWC was BELUS, made mainly from Mazuelo. The tasting jury of the competition described it as “a floral, aromatic and dark wine with elegant black cherry and blackberry fruit. It is dark, chewy and dense with rich fruit. The tannins are pleasant and ripe on the finish”.
At BELUS, after manual selection in the vineyard, the grapes enter the sorting tables by vibration and weight. They are then destemmed without crushing and macerated in stainless steel tanks with temperature control and long intracellular fermentations.
The must is pumped over naturally by gravity, using the submerged cap as an aid in the winemaking process.
A pneumatic press is used for the final extraction of the wine, which is then transferred to French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation. Once the malolactic fermentation is finished, the wine is transferred to new French oak barrels where it undergoes oxidative ageing for 14 months.
