Chozas Carrascal, Utiel-Requena / Vinos de Pago (Valencia, Spain) 2017

 This blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Chardonnay and 30% Macabeo (a.k.a. Viura) was barrel fermented and then aged for six months in French oak, with no malolactic fermentation.  But enough regarding technical matters:  This is flat-out delicious and extremely well made, showing very restrained oak and superb integration.  The citrusy notes of Sauvignon are most prominent in the bouquet, but the wine certainly doesn’t taste or seem generally like a varietal Sauvignon Blanc; rather, this is its own, unique thing, and a beautiful thing at that.  The wine has a reputation for aging extremely well (I’m told that the 2013 is still being poured in a two-star Michelin restaurant and is very much alive), and I find that entirely easy to believe.  Bloody terrific wine.