After completing her wine studies and having spent a few stints with leading winemakers in the area, young Spanish winemaker Esmeralda García returned to her hometown of Santiuste de San Juan Bautista - a village of ~500 inhabitants - to tend her family’s old Verdejo vineyards within the Rueda DO appellation. Here the sandy, wind-blown soils have allowed for vines to thrive on their original rootstocks and she estimates the youngest to be at least 130 years of age, but many of them to be over 200 years old!!!! Woah, crazy stuff. To put into context, it means these vines likely predate the arrival of the ravenous phylloxera (yes, that pesky insect pest that damaged the root of vines), which plagued Europe in the late 19th century.
Esmeralda’s four sites cover about five hectares and all vary in altitude and soil composition, allowing her to bottle several cuvées with strikingly different profiles. Yields from these ancient vines are very low, producing just a few bunches per plant and giving wines with exceptionally concentrated flavours and distinct expressions of terroir. From the beginning, Esmeralda chose to make natural wines without any additives or sulphites. The arid climate enables her to work without pesticides or chemical additives and in the cellar she initiates fermentation with native yeasts only in Spanish clay amphora. Bunches are hand-harvested and undergo a short skin maceration before passing through a vertical press.
The Rueda denomination has evolved a lot over recent decades, now allowing for the inclusion of many international varieties. However, while Rueda continues to modernise and adapt to international palates, it's warming that Esmeralda remains focused on exclusively working with the native Verdejo. These trailblazing, single varietal expressions from her ancient vineyards are of great importance to the DO region and wider Spain as a showcase for pursing honest, natural indigenous wines. But, there is so much more to like about this striking wine portfolio, where the result is powerful and structured whites that combine balanced aromatics with lingering citrus flavours. We salute you.
