2023 Pago del Vicario Blanco de Tempranillo Vino de Pago DO, La Mancha, Spain

Pale straw yellow with greenish reflections. Aromas of ripe pear and ripe citrus zest mingle with slight floral notes and touches of tropical fruit, such as green mango. Bold flavor on the palate, full of green apple, white peach, dried herbs, green olive and bitter almond with a captivating minerality that powers the long, lively finish.

From one of just 20 elite vineyards to hold the highly coveted Vino de Pago status, which is one of the highest classifications in Spain, the equivalent of a French Grand Cru. It’s also a “blanc de noirs,” a white wine made from red Tempranillo grapes, which gives it a thrilling succulence and refreshing personality that must be tasted to be believed. It also boasts 95 points from Decanter World Wine Awards, outscoring 97% of all other Spanish whites in their competition—of any price!

Woman winemaker Sandra Luque Muñoz.

Spain's “vino de pago” system is an appellation structure that was legally created in 2003 by the Spanish government, in coordination with Spain's winemaking community, to indicate a higher qualification of excellence than DO or even the top-level DOCa. It is comparable to the French-wide Grand Cru system. Vino de Pago is a Spanish wine classification system for individual vineyards or estates that produce high-quality wines. The term pago refers to a rural site with specific soil and microclimate characteristics.