Verdejo

Verdejo is the grape of Rueda, on the high plateau of Castilla y León at around 700 to 800 metres, and its modern career is a deliberate reinvention. For centuries it was made into a heavy, oxidative, sherry-like wine; in the 1970s the Marqués de Riscal brought in Bordeaux consultants and cool fermentation equipment, and within two decades Rueda had become Spain's leading source of crisp, aromatic dry white.

The grape has natural advantages for the job. It ripens with good acidity despite the intense continental heat, helped enormously by the altitude and the sharp drop in night-time temperature, and it carries thiol compounds similar to those in Sauvignon Blanc, which give it a genuinely aromatic character.

The wine shows lime, green apple and white peach with a distinct herbal, fennel-and-bay note, and a characteristic bitter almond finish that gives it grip. Acidity is high and the texture is fuller than the aromatics suggest, because Verdejo is prone to oxidation and producers often use lees contact and protective handling that add weight.

It is frequently blended with Sauvignon Blanc, which sharpens it and which some critics feel obscures what makes the grape distinctive. The best examples are unblended, from old bush vines on the stony soils around La Seca, and a small number of producers age it in barrel or under flor to recall the older style.

Outside Rueda it is barely planted. It should not be confused with the unrelated Verdelho of Madeira or Verdicchio of the Marche.