While the reputation of Spanish wines has hardly been built on the country’s image as a producer of high quality whites, there are nonetheless some notable exceptions. One of the most interesting among them, not least when it comes to providing good value for money, is Rueda. Wines from this DO draw on the originality of a unique grape variety, the Verdejo, which produces fragrant white wines with a strong fruity character, notes of freshly-cut grass and a well-balanced palate.

This is flat countryside that stretches out as far as the eye can see, going a long way towards proving the truth behind the old Spanish saying “wide is Castile&rdquo. The vines that grow in this part of the tableland, which rises up to 600-700m in altitude, are subject to the rigours of a distinctly continental climate – and that means very cold winters and very hot summers, during which, fortunately, the night-time temperatures fall considerably during the ripening period, helping to keep the right level of acidity.

The Verdejo is the Spanish answer to the Sauvignon Blanc; slightly more fragrant, perhaps, but intense, fruity and vibrant. The perfect Verdejo has aromas of apple, mint and fennel, with a background of freshly-cut grass that adds real freshness. During particularly hot years, it can also feature exotic notes of tropical fruits more redolent of a New World Sauvignon. The best examples also achieve a fine balance between the ripe fruit notes, the fresh acidity and a characteristic bitterness that cleans the palate.

Some producers – only a few so far – have also been able to squeeze a few personal mineral touches out of these whites, whose vines grow in alluvial, rocky soil (something they share with the wines from Loira).

A little bit of history
Wines from this region were already famous in the 16th century. They were generous whites, with a high natural alcohol content (that was often topped up with even more alcohol) and mostly matured in oak casks. Few examples of this style have survived to the present day.

Modern wine-production in Rueda really began in the seventies, with the arrival in the region of Marqués de Riscal, a traditional winery from Rioja, who were convinced that they had found the ideal place for producing fresh, fruity whites in a more modern style virtually unknown in Spain at that time.

But the real “resurrection” of the region came with the recovery of its traditional native grape variety, which was under threat from the easier to handle and more productive Palomino and Viura varieties that had made their triumphant entry into the region following the phylloxera outbreak. Today, 1186 hectares of Viura and 658 hectares of Palomino remain, compared to 3372 hectares of Verdejo. The region’s fourth grape variety is Sauvignon Blanc, with 479 hectares.

From its creation until 1980 until just recently, Rueda was a DO that only recognised white wines. But a couple of years ago it decided to include the region’s reds, which until then had been marketed as “Vinos de la Tierra de Medina del Campo”. Rumour has it that the Consejo Regulador are considering reversing this decision, which has met with little success and hasn’t really found favour with the general public, so strongly is Rueda associated with white wine in the mind of the consumer. Still, don’t be surprised if you come across a rare example of a “Rueda red”.

Still, let’s return to the Verdejos. Some producers – but again, only a few – have managed to successfully marry the grape and the wood in a way that allows the wines to be stored for slightly longer than those young whites that shouldn’t be drunk more than two or three years after the grapes are harvested.

However, as in most Spanish regions, a lot of work remains to be done and a lot of research still needs to be carried out. The Spanish have only spent 25 years studying and learning about some of their most promising grape varieties. Who can say what the limits of these varieties might be? One thing that’s clear is that the noble Verdejo is a long way away from reaching that ceiling.

Who’s who in Rueda
The region boasts a trio of top-class wine producers who currently lead the pack in the DO. Behind them, several other companies produce solid Verdejo whites at a consistent level of quality that provide good value for money.

The front-runners:
• Bodegas de Crianza de Castilla La Vieja. This winery is one of the pioneers (it was founded in 1976) and is under the stewardship of the man who has always been thought of as “Mr Rueda”: Antonio Sanz, whose family is every bit an icon in the region. They own 200 hectares, which provides them with an excellent testing ground, and they combine their commercial activities (they produce three million bottles a year) with the iconoclastic spirit of true pioneers. Their Verdejo offers the best quality at the lowest price.

• Bodega Dos Victorias. Founded in 1998, this winery is the personal project of Victoria Pariente and Victoria Benavides, two women oenologists who have brought great clarity and some fine varietal definition to the region’s white wines. Their attractively-priced José Pariente has become one of the most consistent and expressive white wines in Spain.

• Viña Sila. The great revelation of the 21st century. This winery was founded in 2002 by Jorge Ordóñez, the famous importer of Spanish wines to the USA, in association with wine writer Víctor Rodríguez and Galician wine-maker Javier Alén, producer of the Ribeiro Viña Meín. With only three vintages on the market, their Naia has already become the best young Verdejos from Rueda, while their cask-fermented Náiades has reached levels of complexity and an expression of the terroir that are rare among Spanish white wines.

Other producers you can count on:
As we said, a few wineries have managed to successfully combine the Verdejo grape with the wood, and special mention must be made of the pioneers of this type of production, Belondrade y Lurton, and the newcomers from Bodega Terna with their excellent V (3) Verdejo Viñas Viejas, which is actually the new winery formed by Antonio Sanz’s sons (Bodegas de Crianza Castilla la Vieja).

The list of companies whose whites offer a good expression of the Verdejo grape (at reasonable prices) include, among others, Bodegas Aura (Aura Verdejo), Bodegas Félix Lorenzo Cachazo (Carrasviñas Verdejo), Bodegas Cerrosol (Doña Beatriz Verdejo), Cía de Vinos de Telmo Rodríguez (Basa), the pioneering Vinos Blancos de Castilla (Marqués de Riscal Verdejo), Vinos Sanz (Sanz Verdejo) and Viñedos de Nieva (Blanco Nieva Pie Franco Verdejo).