On the nose a nutty and herbaceous character dominates. In the mouth a slightly oxidative note reminds me of a Fino Sherry. The aftertaste is rather short and marked by an acidic sensation.
Overall this wine is less refreshing than you would expect from a varietal Verdejo. This is probably due to the fact that Limousin is a sort of special edition. The wine is made using selected grapes from more than 40 years old vines grown in the best gravel soil of the highest terraces of the Duero valley. Fermentation takes place in 600 litres French oak vats. The wine is then left on the lees for up to 6 months in French oak casks. Throughout the ageing process the lees are stirred twice per week using the technique known as batonnage.
Generally Verdejo is an aromatic grape variety that delivers crispy white wines. It is considered indigenous of Castilla y León, where it was revived in the ‘80s by Marqués de Riscal. This well established Riojan winery established a new production site in Rueda in 1972 and dedicated itself to the making and promotion of Verdejo based white wines. Marqués de Riscal was also a major force behind the creation of the Denominación de Origen Rueda in 1980.
Founded in Elciego in 1858 by Guillermo Hurtado de Amézaga, Herederos del Marqués de Riscal is one of the oldest Rioja wineries. It is still in the hands of the founder’s offsprings and nowadays exports 65% of its production to nearly 110 countries.
The Valladolid winery produces close to 5 million bottles under the Denominación de Origen Rueda, almost pairing the red production of the original winery in Rioja, 80% of which is represented by its flagship Reserva.
For this Bottle I paid 12 EUR directly at the Marqués de Riscal winery in Elciego. Honestly, in the past I drunk and enjoyed simpler and cheaper Verdejo wines more than this fancy version. Given my experience, I doubt it is worth pushing this Spanish grape too far and to try to emulate white Burgundy wines. At the end of the day, Verdejo is not Chardonnay and Spain is not France.
Country: Spain
Region: Rueda
Grapes: Verdejo
Type: White
Vintage: 2016
Producer: Herederos del Marqués de Riscal
Price range: Economic (<15 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 2/5