Cantarranas Verdejo 2021
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The benchmark for white wines in Spain. Bodega Cuatro Rayas gathers vineyards from more than 300 winegrower members disseminated through almost 30 villages in the provinces of Valladolid and Segovia; a patchwork of plots, municipalities, and vineyard terrains that allows them to make a fairly comprehensive journey through the range and richness of soils and hillsides in their surrounding land. Since the foundation of the winery in 1935, this wine project has teamwork as a base, a special bond between winegrowers, who take care of the grapes, and winemakers, who make those fruits to express their best features in the form of wine. Today, winemakers Elena M. Oyagüe and Roberto L. Tello continue on the celebrated legacy of Bodega Cuatro Rayas.
Rueda is located along the banks of the Duero River in Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive north of Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back to the 12th century, it was in the 1980s that the region was granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 70 wineries call Rueda home. This national favorite is the top-selling white wine in Spain.
Notable facts Rueda’s main grape variety, Verdejo, gets it distinct complexity from stressful growing conditions and mineral-rich soil. Think of Verdejo as a fuller-bodied and more aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. A lush and smooth character with perfectly balanced acidity means Rueda wines pair well with seafood, fresh salads and spicy food, but are also great on their own.
Captivating and full of character, Verdejo grows with great success in Rueda, Spain and virtually nowhere else in Europe. It has become so trendy in Spain since the turn of the century that plantings have also increased tremendously. Somm Secret—Contrary to what some may think, it is actually not related to the Portugese variety with a very similar name, Verdelho. In fact, DNA profiling suggests it may be a sibling of Godello, another native of NW Spain.