Bright pale yellow color; stone fruits, peach, lemon, fennel on the nose; lemon-lime, white peach, grapefruit, honeydew melon, herbaceous note on the palate.
Dry; slight bitterness-tartness, characteristics of verdejo. Very good acidity (3.30 pH). Medium-plus body. This is 100% verdejo grape wine; verdejo is almost exclusive to the Rueda region of Spain, northwest of Madrid on the Duero River. 13.5% ABV
The Rueda region was recognized as a Denominanción de Origen (DO) wine region in 1980. Wines labeled Rueda must contain 50% verdejo; it often is blended with sauvignon blanc and macabeo. Wines designated “Rueda Verdejo” must contain 85% verdejo, and most often are 100% verdejo, which is the percent in this effort.
Beronia harvests mechanically at night to preserve freshness and void oxidation. Fruit pressed in an inert atmosphere also to avoid oxidation. Fermented in both stainless steel and concrete eggs. Stainless delivers strict temperature control and speedy alcoholic fermentation; wines are complex, clean, intense. Concrete promotes contact with the lees with its natural convection, while the porosity helps produce fullness of body. After two-to-three months aging on the lees with weekly remuage (riddling), the wine is clarified and blended. The winery notes: “With the concrete, we are focusing on the palate, whilst the stainless steel focus is on the fruit.”
Beronia focuses on sustainablity. Their website notes: “The starting point for the design of the winery was that it should be sustainable. Its thick concrete walls and the fact that the areas where the wine is actually made are semi-underground, being five metres [16.4 feet] below ground level, mean that there is low thermal inertia between the outside and the inside of the winery. As a result, due to the lower heat flux, the temperature inside this part of the winery remains constant – a valuable asset when it comes to storing and keeping white wines. Viticulture at Beronia Rueda is rational. ‘Because of the climate here, you could almost be working organically without actually trying, because this is a very special area,’ explains Beronia Rueda’s winemaker, Marián Santamaría.”
Beronia Verdejo, Rueda DO 2020 is tart and refreshing, smooths out with air in the glass. Excellent acidity. Certainly cleans the palate. Think pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc with a Spanish accent. Serve well-chilled to tone down its lemon-lime and grapefruit attack. Or give it some air—heck, event decant—and it becomes much less assertively sharp, rounder, more approachable. If you enjoy adventure and aggressively food-friendly wine with some charming characteristics, definitely give this a sip. Pair with fish tacos, shrimp scampi, tapas; Asian cuisine; seafood, freshwater fish, shellfish; chicken; sausage; scrambled egg dishes. Cheese—goat cheese; humbolt fog, manchego, queso zamorano, pecorino, feta, ossau-iraty, halloumi, petit basque, ricotta. Very versatile with cheese. $15-18
