Grape variety
Verdejo
Verdejo, the white grape of Rueda: origin, Castilla y León, fresh herbal wines with a bitter finish, appellation rules and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Castilla y León; probably a cross of Savagnin and Castellana Blanca (few DNA markers)
- Main region
- Rueda (provinces of Valladolid, Segovia and Ávila), where Verdejo makes up the largest share of the vines
- Typical aromas
- Fennel, cut grass, herbs, citrus, white peach; a slightly bitter finish
- Classic pairing
- Fish and seafood, asparagus, goat’s cheese, tapas
- Labelling rule
- “Rueda Verdejo”: at least 85 per cent Verdejo; “Rueda”: at least 50 per cent Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc
Verdejo is the white grape of Rueda, a wine area on the Castilian plateau south of Valladolid, and a grape whose reputation was built only over the past fifty years. The appellation lies at around 700 metres, in the south of the province of Valladolid with extensions into Segovia and Ávila. Winters are long and cold, summers hot and dry, and the soils stony and gravelly.
Tradition says Mozarabs brought the variety from North Africa in the 11th century, when the Duero basin was resettled under Alfonso VI. Genetic analysis points instead to a cross of Savagnin and the Spanish variety Castellana Blanca, which would suggest a European origin; it rests, however, on only a small number of markers. For a long time Rueda made mostly oxidised, sherry-like wines, largely from Palomino, and Verdejo had fallen behind Palomino and Viura. In the 1970s the Rioja estate Marqués de Riscal, together with the Bordeaux oenologist Émile Peynaud, showed that Verdejo could give a fresh, aromatic white when fermented cool. In 1980 Rueda gained Denominación de Origen status, the first in Castilla y León.
In the vineyard Verdejo is a grape of extremes. The fruit ripens under big temperature swings between day and night, which keeps the acidity. Because the berries oxidise easily, they are often picked at night or at dawn so that they reach the winery cool. Some of the old vineyards, mainly on sandy soils, stand on their own roots. Many vines are still grown as low bushes (vaso), and the rules limit yields.
The wine is pale greenish-yellow, dry and fresh, with lively acidity and good body. Fennel, cut grass, herbs, citrus and white peach are typical, with a slightly bitter finish that the appellation itself describes as characteristic. Verdejo is mostly made in stainless steel; time on the lees or in barrel gives breadth, and the wines can age for several years, turning nutty and honeyed. Sparkling wines are also made by the traditional method.
The rules are simple: a wine labelled “Rueda Verdejo” must contain at least 85 per cent Verdejo, a plain “Rueda” only 50 per cent from the main varieties, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, with the rest often Viura; “Rueda Sauvignon” requires 85 per cent Sauvignon Blanc. Verdejo recalls Sauvignon Blanc in its herbal, citrus freshness, but with more body. It suits fish and seafood, asparagus, salads, goat’s cheese and the tapas that make up the aperitif in Castile.