Winemaker Notes
This is the winery's emblematic wine. A wine that comes exclusively from their ecological estate Quinta San Diego. Each of the plots is hand-harvested and then the lees are fermented and aged separately in French oak barrels.
Blend: 95% Verdejo, 5% Other Varieties
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Belondrade y Lurton is already sold out, but for completeness of our database I tasted it next to the current 2021. 2020 was a little warmer and drier, and the wine shows a golden color and a more developed nose with notes of yellow fruit, pollen and hay and a little quince too with time in the glass. The palate is soft and tender, with integrated acidity, very good balance, power and elegance and the pleasant bitter twist in the finish. It's riper at 14.2% alcohol.
Captivating and full of character, Verdejo grows with great success in Rueda, Spain and virtually nowhere else in Europe. It has become so trendy in Spain since the turn of the century that plantings have also increased tremendously. Somm Secret—Contrary to what some may think, it is actually not related to the Portugese variety with a very similar name, Verdelho. In fact, DNA profiling suggests it may be a sibling of Godello, another native of NW Spain.
Rueda is located along the banks of the Duero River in Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive north of Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back to the 12th century, it was in the 1980s that the region was granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 70 wineries call Rueda home. This national favorite is the top-selling white wine in Spain.
Notable facts Rueda’s main grape variety, Verdejo, gets it distinct complexity from stressful growing conditions and mineral-rich soil. Think of Verdejo as a fuller-bodied and more aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. A lush and smooth character with perfectly balanced acidity means Rueda wines pair well with seafood, fresh salads and spicy food, but are also great on their own.