Faustino Rivera Ulecia Blanco 2023
$25, 12.5% alcohol, screwcap, Rioja (Spain)
For pure drinking enjoyment this is a cracking white wine. It has texture, it has fruit, and when you swallow the sparks fly. It tastes of lemon, nectarine, wax and brine, with tonic-like herb notes and honey as whispered afterthoughts. It feels good, it tastes good and it finishes even better. It has character too, which is a trait in short supply. Make hay. 93 points.
This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of the highly respected The Winefront site.
Mattinson has been an independent wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.
Mattinson, who is 100% independent, puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.
