This is what good wine from the Macabeo grape tastes like

Macabeo (Viura) is a northern Spanish white grape that produces fairly neutral wines. It can be floral, but most Macabeo is picked early, when it still has fresh, grapefruit-like acidity.

In the past, a little Macabeo was often added to red wine in Spain to soften its flavor. The same is what the Italians like to use their Trebbiano for. But since we increasingly demand more intense red wines, this is (fortunately) rarely done anymore.

Macabeo, known as Viura, is one of the most important grapes from La Rioja. It is usually blended with the more flavorful Malvasia to give the wine fresh acidity. But because the juice in La Rioja is often aged in oak barrels, you have to have studied it thoroughly to still recognize the Viura—as they call it there.