Verdejo
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2025
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Fresh seafood and shellfish, grilled white fish, and goat cheese salads or traditional Spanish tapas.
✨ Technical Specifications
In the early 1970s, the historic Rioja producer Marqués de Riscal ventured into the high-altitude, gravelly plains of Rueda in Castilla y León, seeking to craft a world-class white wine. Guided by the legendary French oenologist Émile Peynaud, they championed the native Verdejo grape, which had previously been relegated to heavy, oxidized styles. By introducing temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation, Marqués de Riscal revolutionized the region, effectively birthing the modern, vibrant Rueda DO. Grown on stony, clay-limestone soils under a continental climate with dramatic diurnal temperature shifts, this wine captures the essence of the grape: brilliant straw-yellow, highly aromatic, with notes of fresh-cut grass, citrus, and white peach, backed by a signature mineral and slightly bitter fennel finish.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1858 by Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, Herederos del Marqués de Riscal pioneered modern viticulture in Spain by importing Bordeaux vinification techniques and oak barrel maturation to Rioja Alavesa. Situated in Elciego, the estate capitalizes on high-altitude vineyards framed by the Sierra de Cantabria, planted on chalky clay-limestone soils under a moderating Atlantic-continental microclimate. In the 1970s, Riscal drove the revival of Rueda, introducing Sauvignon Blanc and rejuvenating indigenous Verdejo. Across both denominaciones, the producer champions sustainable, regenerative viticulture, with all estate vineyards in Rueda certified organic and Rioja holdings transitioning swiftly. Winemaking balances classical European elegance with precision: the Reserva and Gran Reserva bottlings deliver supple Tempranillo infused with Graciano and refined via American oak, while the cuvée Barón de Chirel embodies concentrated, old-vine terroir mastery. Crowned by Frank Gehry's architectural masterpiece, Marqués de Riscal remains a global benchmark uniting 19th-century cellar heritage with contemporary oenology.
🍇 Grapes
Verdejo (min 85%), Sauvignon Blanc