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Winery: Belondrade

Country / Region: Spain / Rueda

Date Winery was established: 1994

Grape Variety: Verdejo

Alcohol Content / Volume: 14,00% / 750ml

First Vintage Released: 1994 (released in 1996)

Ratings: 95 pts. Tim Atkin

Decanting time: Open bottle for half hour and serve between 9 to 12ºC.

Good to know: Belondrade y Lurton has been conceived since it very first vintage as a “grand vin” implying a connection to the terroir as an ageing capacity. Each vintage from this wine is the result of a different assemblage reflecting the great diversity of the 23 plots composing the organic estate Quinta San Diego. Manually harvested, each plot will ferment spontaneously and age on its lees in French oak barrels for 10 to 12 months.

The entire production is bottled at the same time and stays at in the bottle at least 5 months before the market release. Belondrade y Lurton is conceived as a “vin de garde” and becomes more enjoyable still after 6 to 8 years, when it starts displaying the best of it and all its personality.

Belondrade was founded by Frenchman Didier Belondrade who felt in love with the Castilian plateau, its extreme climate, its magical soils made of sand, pebbles and clay, but above all he felt in love with Rueda’s native variety: verdejo. He decided to leave behind his life of Parisian executive and live his dream. With the idea to create a “chateau” in Spain, he decided to search for another interpretation of verdejo, expressing longevity and elegance. In 2000 Didier decided to materialize his project with the construction of his new cellar in the village of La Seca (Valladolid), just a few kilometers away from the Duero River. The estate Quinta San Diego grew steadily, obtaining in 2010 the organic certification. As of today, it is composed of 23 plots presenting differences in terms of soils compositions, orientations, planting patterns, pruning, and training systems, and ages of the vines. These differences bring a unique personality to each plot. To preserve it, harvest is done manually, plot by plot, fermenting spontaneously (native yeasts) before ageing on its lees in barrel or in tank.

Within just a quarter of century, Belondrade is now recognized as an iconic winery in Spain.