Varietal Verdejo has its challengers but this Casa Maria is a good one!

Varietal Verdejo has its challengers but this Casa Maria is a good one!

Cuatro Rayas Casa Maria Verdejo Vino De La Tierra De Castilla Y Leon 2019, 13% ABV

RRP €12.85. Le Caveau, 64 Wine, Greenman Wines, Bradleys Cork

The label tells us that this Verdejo wine is from a careful selection of the indigenous grape variety, and harvested when perfectly ripe.

The colour is an attractive pale yellow. Aromas are also pleasant, of apple and lime. And that combination, with herbal hints (the slightest whiff of fennel), also appears in the smooth and fresh palate, followed by a dry lingering finish. 

With its high acidity and a suggestion of bitterness, Verdejo makes an excellent food wine but is noted mostly for its compatibility with fish so pair this light-bodied wine with shellfish and fresh fish (importers Le Caveau suggest a simply grilled piece of fresh mackerel).  Should be excellent as well with the Fish Tacos that I've enjoyed from time to time in Cork’s Good Day Deli. The label also recommends it as an aperitif with olives.

Highly Recommended

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Bodega Cuatro Rayas is the largest and arguably the most important producer of wines in the Rueda DO. Established in 1935, the cooperative has evolved to become a state-of-the-art winery, where the focus is to make quality wine, in an environmentally-friendly manner. 

Most of the world’s Verdejo is grown in Spain and most of that in Rueda. Nevertheless, its prominence in Rueda is being challenged by the international Sauvignon Blanc. Furthermore, Chardonnay and Viognier were added to the DO regulations in 2020. Wine-Searcher.com continues: Before this a generic Rueda DO still white wine had to feature at least 50 percent Verdejo. Now it must include the same minimum of Verdejo OR Sauvignon Blanc. 

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