- How well do you really know it?

BY: KETIL SAUER

Notes from a recent trip uncovering the area of Rueda.

WHERE IS IT?

Rueda D.O. is within Castilla y León, in Spain. Located north-west of Madrid, it’s vineyards lies in altitudes of 700-920m above sea level with 3 different areas: Valladolid, Ávila and Segovia.

WHAT IS IT?

It's a white wine region with focus on Verdejo, the indigenous variety responsible for 90% of the plantings. The name itself means green grape which very well describes the young color in the glass but also the initial aromatics. The other grapes you will find are: Sauvignon Blanc, Palomino, Viura, Chardonnay and Viognier for the whites, you can though, if you’re lucky, also encounter one of the rare red wines, or even more unusual: Their Pálido and Dorado wines. Most reds are made on Tempranillo with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha and Merlot allowed, while

Pálido and Dorado are sherrylike wines from Palomino Fino and/or Verdejo.

Rueda displays and array of different characters of the Verdejo grape. It has evolved with the region and adapted to the changing environment over the years and has become the main focus and identity of Rueda.

The north (Valladolid) has darker, heavier clay and pebble soil. The south (Segovia) has a more sandy composition in combination with the pebble; here you can find old, ungrafted vines of more than 100 years with the original pre-phylloxera rootstocks. Effectively this difference creates a stylistic distinction between the heavier and more structured wines of the north and the more aromatic and mineral wines of the south.

HOW BIG IS IT?

The size is 19.892 ha (2020), with a massive increase the last 20 years. The hectares under vine have increased more than 300% since 2000! This means, Rueda is indirectly stealing vineyard area from other regions such as Rioja or Priorat, since only a certain amount of vineyard expansion is permitted annually from EU and the hectare count is national rather than regional. Thus, Rueda has become a hotspot that many already established producers look to invest in.

WHEN IS IT?

Rueda D.O. was in 1980 the first region subregion of Castilla y León to receive D.O., but the area has a long history stretching far longer back in time: The indigenous variety of Verdejo has been cultivated since the 11th century, some rare vines have survived the phylloxera, but the region largely suffered as most other. The region is windy with a large diurnal shift, giving them full phenolic maturity while maintaining the acidity.

The wind creates good conditions fo organic farming and also permits the harvest season to stretch over months, beginning in August in Valladolid and finishing in Segovia as late as October.

I had the pleasure to visit this rather unknown region, try the wines and get a grasp of the area. One of the reasons for Rueda D.O. still to be somewhat unknown is that the majority of it's wines never leave Spain with 86% of the production consumed domestically – the largest export markets being Netherlands followed by Germany.

Around The Landscape

Our first visit was with Finca Montepedroso , a rather large producer, with some interesting fresh and crispy wines, we had the option to try some older vintages where we first saw an idea in ageing these wine, when we tasted the 2014 Montepedroso Verdejo Sobre Lias and later the next day with 2016 Finca Las Comas Parente Verdejo, aged in new fudres.

2014 Finca Montepedroso Verdejo, Sobre Lias , showed with a Golden color, baked bread, fennel, leeks, chalk, overripe apples, quince, honey, honey melon and some citrussy notes too. Both the taste and the aromas showed well. I found that with age, the wines get an even deeper taste with more nuances and the ”Sur Lie” character showed itself with brioche, honey, ripe fruits and honey.

2016 Finca las comas, Verdejo, Jose Pariente, Rueda D.O. - First Vintage(new Fudres) Deep Hay color with green hue, ripe apples, oaky, pear, quince, cedar wood, lactic, white flowers, honey melon, honey, oxi apples, brioche, lees, caramel, textural with moderate acidity and a zesty twist.

Our second vist was at Bodega Garciarevalo , where we had the pleasure of both the winemaker and the owner. The wines they showed was in different production vessels, we were presented with wines made in Amphora and INOX. The wines showed quite different due to this. When produced in stainless steel the exotic fruits, lime, green grass fresh hay and quince were in focus but going for the Amphora wines we tasted wines with a riper fruit and caramel character.

For our second day in Rueda, we had 4 visits, the producers that opened their bodegas for us were: Hijos de Alberto Gutierrez, Jose Pariente, Hermanos Del Villar and Verderrubi.

The visit at Hijos de Alberto was an interesting one. Besides the white wines that the area is mainly making, they make Pálido and Dorado. Grouped together under Vino de Licor, these are unique styles akin to Sherry.

DORADO AND PÁLIDO CATEGORIES ARE FORTIFIED WINES PRODUCED IN THE D.O. RUEDA.

- Rueda Pálido it´s a dry, fortified wine made from Palomino Fino and/or Verdejo varietals, made with biological ageing that must be left in oak barrels for at least 3 years before bottling, being the minimum ABV of 15 degrees. These wines can be similar to Fino styles of Sherry.

- Rueda Dorado is a fortified wine madre from Palomino Fino and or Verdejo varietals, made via oxidative ageing (usually in glass demijohns), that must be left in oak barrels for at least 2 years before bottling. The solera system can be used but is not mandatory. Dorado are sharing many traits with Amontillado sherries.

The showcase of the bodega was with a deep huge cellar for storage and a large outside area for ageing the Dorado, in demijohns. Hijos de Alberto is one of the biggest producers of the local unique wines and one of the only ones still practicing the production of fortified wine from Rueda.

The style of these wines really makes one think about sherry, they have many similarities with taste and color, but of course they are their own. This was my first time tasting these unique wines The production we had the option to taste were 3 different wines, Pálido, Dorado Dry and Dorado Sweet.

NV Palido, De Alberto, Verdejo, Fortified, Rueda D.O. 15% ABV

Color: Deep Hay towards golden, high viscosity, watery rim, high brilliance.

Nose: Flor, mushrooms, overripe quince, apple, pear, chalk, flint, minerality, saline, wet forest flor, wet cellar

Taste: Dry, moderate acidity, overripe apples, pear, quince, flor, mushrooms, wet forest floor, saline, minerality, flint, granite, lingering flor, mushrooms, and overripe apples.

NV Dorado, De Alberto, Verdejo, Fortified, Rueda D.O. 17.5% ABV

Color: Deep golden, slight green hue, color consistency towards the rim, high brilliance, high viscosity.

Nose: Caramel, mushrooms, Oxidative, mashed potatoes, browned butter, acetone, overripe quince, overripe pear, overripe apples, lactin, lees, Taste: Dry, high acidity, light body, flavors of caramel, mushrooms, overripe; pear, apple, quince, oxidative, lingering caramel and mushrooms.

Our visit at Jose Pariente we were shown many different ways to store the wines, with both large wooden tanks, clay eggs, stainless steel, large and smaller barrels. All of them with white wines aging on the lees. The wines showed themselves as they should with the green fresh citrus, green apples and a great minerality. We could really taste a saline minerality in both the Verde - jo as well as the Sauvignon Blancs. The wines aged in wood gave a different expression with an oxidative style matching well the minerality and freshness of the wines.

Hermanos Del Villar - Oro de Castilla was next up. Our visit at Oro de Castilla was quite a textbook visit. We were presented with diffetent wines of Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc stylistically straying within the classic expressions of Rueda, with lemon, freshly cut hay and apple as the main nuances.

The last visit of the day was with: Verderrubi.

The winery consisted of large steel tanks with both red, rose and whites in production. The wines showed typical for the area with a clear focus on the whites with green fresh nuances; freshly cut grass, green apples, bay leaves, saline minerality and lemon. The reds showed with lactic, red berries, easy drinking and low viscosity.

Before our return to Denmark on our 3rd day we had a visit at Belondrade.

The winery started producing wines back in 1994 and have been organic since 2019. All the Rueda DO wines are aged in oak barrels with 20% new oak added every year for 9 months. They work with malolactic fermentation but in a different approach every year. Malolactic fermentation can be high or low: 2012 had almost no malolaction fer- mentation while 2017 had almost 100% malo. The approach in the vinyard is to use green pruning instead of green harvesting.

The quality of the wines speak for themselves, the combination of oak and the powerful primary fruit of the wine creates a great harmony and gives the wines depth, length, power and complexity in a way that really shows what quality Verdejo can produce in the right hands.

2020 Belondrade Y Lurton, Verdejo, Rueda D.O.

Nose: Green oak leafs, oak, green grass, green apple peel, pineapple, lactic, quince, green pear, honey melon, butter, yeast, lees, cream fraiche, cedar wood,

Taste: Dry, moderate acidity, Creamy texture, flavors of apple peel, cream fraiche, quince, oak, cedar wood, fennel, pear, chalk, limestone, citrus, lemon - lingering cream fraiche and apples

2015 Belondrade Y Lurton, Verdejo, Rueda D.O.

Nose: Underripe pineapple, pear, apple, quince, lees, limestone, chalk, white flowers, honey melon, oak, cedar wood, yeast, bread

Taste: Great balance of fruit, creamy texture and acidity. Moderate acidity, creamy texture, flavors of yellow apples, quince, pear, butter, brioche, lactic, lemon, lees, limestone lingering yellow apples and brioche

In the future, hopefully we will see more of these wines getting out of Spain. With a the largest production ever of 155mio kilos in 2022 the trend is clear. Being a very adaptable varietal, Verdejo can do well in varied weather circumstances, which is a much needed feature in these changing times.

Verdejo is a great companion for the early part of the many and matches many different styles of cuisines. With a high quality, affordable prices and and increased interest in the area, I would say it is only a matter of time.