Belondrade y Lurtón 2024

Belondrade produce this Verdejo in the D.O. Rueda, the wine that established the estate. Didier Belondrade set out to broaden Verdejo beyond a fresh young style into a white with real ageing potential, at a time when barrel work with Spanish whites was rare. Rueda sits on a high plateau of gravel over clay and limestone, where a wide swing between hot days and cold nights preserves aromatics and acidity in the Verdejo. The wine spends nine months in French oak barrels and a further five months in bottle. Barrel fermentation and lees ageing add texture and a creamy weight through mannoproteins, while the slow oxygen exchange of the oak brings spice and a toasted character and integrates the fruit. At 14 percent it is a fuller, serious white. The colour is a bright straw gold, the nose complex, with white peach and pear over fresh dough, vanilla and a nutty, almond oak. The palate is broad and layered, held together by Verdejo acidity and a long, gently honeyed finish. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees in a large glass, ideally with food.