Ossian, Rueda Blanco 2016

From a blend of the oldest and most characterful parcels in Nieva, the Ossian vineyards are blessed with a seam of sandy soils that have protected the vines from the dreaded Phylloxera louse, enabling an enormous amount of old vine material to build up and survive for over a hundred years. 2015 was a textbook sun-kissed vintage coming after the cooler, wetter 2014 which saw the water table rise helping to allow soft, steady ripening in 2015. After fermentaion it is raised in 30% new oak for 12 months in a combination of 228 and 600L barrels. 

Ossian’s ancient vineyards are located in the village of Nieva in the Spanish province of Segovia. This particular part of Rueda is blessed with a seam of sandy soils that have protected the vines from the dreaded phylloxera louse. The upshot is a wealth of incredibly old vine material which the team at Ossian farm with the sole intention of producing one of Spain’s great white wines. Add in an altitude of around 900m, with the huge diurnal temperature swings that this brings, and you have some very interesting grape material coming off Ossian’s old bush vines.

The Estate has worked with many notable wine consultants such as Rafael Palacios and Klaus Peter Keller.