2022 · Garnacha Blanca

Clos Ibai is a small Rioja Alavesa project founded in 2014 by friends Daniel and Xabier, who buy or lease historic vineyard parcels and work to preserve singular sites. Their vineyards, also located in Baños de Ebro, the Najerilla Valley, and around Elciego, Laguardia and Navaridas, are farmed organically; some parcels are certified and others in conversion. Manual harvesting, microvinifications and minimally interventionist cellar work—including whole-cluster fermentation and aging in stainless steel, amphora, oak and foudre—are used to express calcareous clay and clay-limestone terroirs. Production is deliberately limited, with an emphasis on sincere, characterful wines that remain approachable and pleasurable.