Fresh Leon + Rioja Blanco

Liquid gold behind a starched curtain in sepia tone. The needle hisses over spun wax, the dance-worn floorboards exhale.

Felix Azpilicueta’s ‘17 Colección Privada Rioja Blanco was an aesthetic delight of this nostalgic quality, and with Rioja, aesthetic is everything. It’s also the sonic language Leon Bridges expertly crafts works in. “Nostalgia is the antidote” [to being replaced], he says. As I take time with his new album Gold-Diggers Sound, a piece in tribute to the timeless, I’m reflecting on the plight of Rioja’s whites and finding a perfect pair in their quandaries.

Strength of tradition in the bottle

Admiring this beauty in a restaurant in Getaria, Pais Vasco, Espana.

It’s tradition that continues to define both these wines and this artist; aesthetic that keeps us returning for more. Leon’s studio achievement is in the delicate, subtle balance of textures- soft synth elements and reverb soaked organic instruments to complement his croon. But is the harkening memorable? Will it have longevity? Rioja’s reds ride shotgun on a polyester seat, but take a peek through the back window at oft overlooked whites, still steeped in tradition, rich with memorable aesthetic.

Azpilicueta creates his private collection whites with care, blending Viura (or Macabeo) and Malvasia in harmony, aging in barrel for toasty truffle tones and freshly shaved cardamom pods over its lemon flesh. Its sappy balsa wood aroma has a starchy waft like the curtain we walked through to get here, shrouding the vanilla créme, letting us forget that the starfruit juice is leaking on the old record sleeve. And so be it, let that juice soak and become a stain, a memory. Nostalgia keeps us coming back, aesthetic entrenches it, and the sounds and flavors will stay as long as we let them. Always love soul sounds, always share Rioja blanco.