by Patrick Ogle
Bodega Valdehermoso Lagar del Rey Rueda Verdejo (2015) is a rich wine with a scent that is a little green and a lot floral. It also has tropical notes on the nose--like a ripe guava. This is a bottle I had more than one of and the second taste reminded me a little of ripe orchard fruit a little as well (pears and apples specifically). Maybe the ripeness made me think tropical the first time around. Here is the thing with wines different people, different times, different menus and different temperatures can all reveal different aspects of a wine. Many tasting rooms I have been to in recent memory won't give you their opinions so as not to pollute yours (although there is the odd pompous ass who feels their opinion is all-important).
There is zippy acidity and ripeness here as well. Maybe less guava-like than when I sniffed? The wine has a surprising nuttiness to it. This is likely because the wine spends some time aging on the lees (the detritus of fermentation).
This is a wonderful wine with food. I had it with shiitake mushroom stir fry with garlic, purple potatoes, baby bok choy and onions. This sort of fairly light but flavorful foods are what will really make you appreciate this wine. Do not get me wrong;it is great without food. I had a glass while cooking and a second bottle a few weeks later just drinking. But it shows its versatility when you combine it with a meal. This wine is light but it has some body to it as well as fruit, acidity and depth.
Verdejo is a grape that generally appears only in Rueda in Spain (North Central/Northwest). Not terribly long ago the grape was used mostly to produce an oxidized style of wine that didn't often find its way outside Spain (at least according to folks I have chatted with). For the past 50 years, or so, it has been made into a dry wine like this one and for the past 37 it has been recognized by a D.O. (like an A.O.C. in France or D.O.C.in Italy). The grapes are traditionally picked at night. Temperatures are lower at night and there is less oxidation of grapes picked in the evening.
Normally I don't get into how much a wine costs but this one is around $9 and you would be hard pressed to find a wine with the qualities here for the price. More important do not be afraid of the unfamiliar name, verdejo.
Bodega Valdehermoso Lagar del Rey Rueda Verdejo (2015) is a rich wine with a scent that is a little green and a lot floral. It also has tropical notes on the nose--like a ripe guava. This is a bottle I had more than one of and the second taste reminded me a little of ripe orchard fruit a little as well (pears and apples specifically). Maybe the ripeness made me think tropical the first time around. Here is the thing with wines different people, different times, different menus and different temperatures can all reveal different aspects of a wine. Many tasting rooms I have been to in recent memory won't give you their opinions so as not to pollute yours (although there is the odd pompous ass who feels their opinion is all-important).
There is zippy acidity and ripeness here as well. Maybe less guava-like than when I sniffed? The wine has a surprising nuttiness to it. This is likely because the wine spends some time aging on the lees (the detritus of fermentation).
This is a wonderful wine with food. I had it with shiitake mushroom stir fry with garlic, purple potatoes, baby bok choy and onions. This sort of fairly light but flavorful foods are what will really make you appreciate this wine. Do not get me wrong;it is great without food. I had a glass while cooking and a second bottle a few weeks later just drinking. But it shows its versatility when you combine it with a meal. This wine is light but it has some body to it as well as fruit, acidity and depth.
Verdejo is a grape that generally appears only in Rueda in Spain (North Central/Northwest). Not terribly long ago the grape was used mostly to produce an oxidized style of wine that didn't often find its way outside Spain (at least according to folks I have chatted with). For the past 50 years, or so, it has been made into a dry wine like this one and for the past 37 it has been recognized by a D.O. (like an A.O.C. in France or D.O.C.in Italy). The grapes are traditionally picked at night. Temperatures are lower at night and there is less oxidation of grapes picked in the evening.
Normally I don't get into how much a wine costs but this one is around $9 and you would be hard pressed to find a wine with the qualities here for the price. More important do not be afraid of the unfamiliar name, verdejo.
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