Sierra de Tolono’s 2024 Rioja Blanco Nahikun is a small-production white from Villabuena de Álava that has drawn two excellent professional reviews, each landing at 94 points. Built from “a blend of grapes from five different micro plots” in the village, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate reports plantings of “Viura, Calagraño, Rojal, Garnacha Blanca, etc.” and notes that the same vineyards also include red varieties that are “fermented and bottled separately.”

Winemaking details point to texture without overt wood character. Wine Advocate says the wine “fermented in well-seasoned 500-liter barrels that do not give aromas but texture,” then “matured in these barrels for eight months.” Vinous similarly notes it “was aged in an old oak barrel,” framing the élevage as supportive rather than dominant.

In terms of style, both critics emphasize precision and freshness. Wine Advocate calls it “clean, precise and elegant, delineated and detailed, complex and harmonious,” adding that there is “no trace of oak, just a sense of great purity” (Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 94+). The same review ties that purity to balance, citing “moderate 11.5% alcohol,” “great freshness and acidity,” a “pH of 3.25 and 5.8 grams of acidity,” and adds that “2024 was a very good year for whites.”

Vinous highlights the variety mix and aromatic profile, writing that, “centered on the character of Rojal, the nose shows layered herbal and botanical notes over a gentle oak backdrop” (Vinous, 94). On the palate it is described as “creamy yet vibrant,” with “elevated acidity, chalky texture and fine persistence,” and positioned “in the lineage of Rioja’s serious whites,” though “more primary today due to its youth but fully articulated.”

Only 1,800 bottles were produced, according to Wine Advocate, and it was bottled in March 2025.