Awhile ago a Spaniard that heard my plight on vanilla/caramel/butter said rioja blanco would be up my alley, and suggested Ossian. Showed me a picture. Got 2 vintages. A wineshop suggested Remelluri rioja blanco if I was gonna go with Ossian, also after hearing my plight. Many months later, got the butter bunch, went to a Spanish restaurant, and opened all 3. An abstract to this script is "disappointing". The fight continues.

Ossian, Vinas Viejas Blanco, Verdejo, 2019, 14% abv.

Nose: apple juice!, and not in a good way. Later on there is some honey. Damn.

Palate: medium body, dry, entry is copper is apples, white vinegar, mid palate shows a mineral-oriented profile, back palate shows a very oily texture, salty, … yep, a bad bottle. Pre-mox? Or is it just this "oxidative"? I will lean on more experienced drinkers.

Finish: short, fermented apples, salt, sigh.

Vernacular (satire): nose showing strong oxidative notes. Medium to full bodied, oily, intially mineral oriented, but its consistently apples and flawed in my opinion. Short finish, reflecrs nose and palate.

If there were bubbles, I would have thought this was a cremant de Bourgogne, but overall quite oxidized/pre-mox, can't tell which. Wine Enthusiast gave this a 91, both Wine Spectator and James Suckling gave this a 93 in 2022… but CT scores are quite lower, where they also seem to show recently opened bottles are mostly oxidized. Someone lucky person sold all the oxidation out.

Ossian, Vinas Viejas Blanco, Verdejo, 2021, 13.5% abv.

Nose: initially closed, hints of white pepper, chalk, some chemicals. Another sigh.

Palate: medium body, entry is carbonated orchard fruit juice, mid palate sticks to sour orchard fruit juice, back palate sticks to sour orchard fruit juice, hmm… is this a one-trick pony or another flawed bottle? Seems like it's meditating to achieve oxidation. Sigh.

Finish: short, bitter, apples and other orchard fruits, minimal alcohol.

Vernacular (satire): initially nose is mineral-oriented, but then everything turns to orchard fruit juice with hints of bitterness here and there. Flawed me feels.

Of course, bought from the same wine cellar as the 2019. Do these verdejos even have vanilla?! Again, whoever this distributor is… Wine Enthusiast gave this a 92, Wine Spectator gave this a 91 in 2024, and James Suckling gave this a 93 in 2023, but Robert Parker gave this a 94+?, … but CT scores are quite lower.

Remelluri, Rioja Blanco, White Blend, 2020, No. 00045, 14% abv.

Nose: initially closed, hints of golden apples, hint of raisins, bit of chalk, doesn't open up even after 2 hours.

Palate: medium body, entry is mineral driven, dried melons, a chalky honey, mid palate shows light copper apples, a bit bitter (is this what they mean by walnuts?), honey with chalk and paint, moderate sweetness, back palate continues the bitterness, hint of butter, a sort of fruity honey. Not impressed. Are the flaws carrying over?!

Finish: short, fruity honey but a bitterness lingers, minimal abv.

Vernacular (satire): too tired and disappointed to even makeup words.

Wow, quite simple stuff. Robert Parker gave this a 96 and James Suckling gave this a 97 in 2023. Significantly overestimated IMHO.