Features

Rueda: Spain's Food-Friendly Whites

• Pairing: Dietary Fat Buffers Tannin

By Michael Franz
Wednesday, July 3, 2002; Page F07

With roughly 55,000 different wines available for sale across the United States, you'd think we'd have access to more than enough renditions of every important type. But it ain't so. We suffer from a chronic shortage of medium-bodied white wines that have enough ripeness and substance to stand up to dishes like grilled fish and chicken, but are still bright, refreshing and affordable. However, I'm happy to report that wines of this very sort are flowing our way in ever-greater numbers from Spain.

Until recently, Spain's standing in the world of wine was based almost entirely on reds, but that is now changing very rapidly, thanks in large part to the excellent whites of Rueda. The region is implausibly located well inland in the north-central part of the country, which is notoriously hot and seemingly suited only to the crafting of robust reds. Indeed, Rueda is sandwiched between Ribera del Duero and Toro (sources of reds that are, respectively, powerful and whoppingly powerful).

The notion of an excellent white from Spain is much easier to envision in the case of Albarino, which is grown in a cool, coastal area along the Atlantic in Galicia. In Rueda, the key to success lies not in proximity to the ocean but in altitude. Almost all of Rueda's vineyards sit above 1,800 feet, and many are above 2,000, which makes for a growing season in which very warm days are followed by very cool nights. In Rueda's wines, daytime warmth is expressed in the form of fully ripe, relatively rich fruit, whereas the cool nights provide a zesty acidic edge that lends balance and refreshment value.

The most important grape in Rueda is Verdejo, which was probably brought into the area centuries ago by the Moors. Although Verdejo can make deeply fruity wines with a lovely perfume of flowers and herbs, it is highly prone to spoilage by oxidation. Proof that it could make excellent wine consistently did not emerge until the 1970s, when famed professor Emile Peynaud of the University of Bordeaux assisted the great Rioja house of Marqués de Riscal in applying new technologies to the challenge. Today, Verdejo is protected against oxidation by a regimen that includes picking before sunrise, pre-fermentation chilling of the grapes, vinification under a blanket of inert gas and early bottling to retain freshness.

Verdejo's primacy in the region is evidenced by the rule that the region's flagship bottlings, "Rueda Superior," must contain no less than 85 percent of wine from this grape. The balance may be made up with Palomino (a second-rate variety that is being phased out) or Viura or Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon has proved so successful that it may now bear the Rueda appellation as a 100 percent varietal wine, and though it now holds only 7 percent of the region's vineyard area, it seems inevitable that this percentage will rise and that Rueda will emerge as one of the world's top sources for this popular grape.

The region produces some reds (made mostly from Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon) as well as some fortified wines and some sparklers. Barrel fermentation and oak aging are employed in many bodegas, but this is usually restricted to a small portion of the total production of white table wine. That is all to the good in my view, since oak almost always reduces distinctiveness even as it raises prices, but an outstanding example of success in this style can be found in Belondrade y Lurton 1999 ($24). Top performers from my recent tastings are listed in order of preference below, with approximate prices indicated in parentheses:

• VARIETAL VERDEJO OR RUEDA SUPERIOR: Blanco Nieva 2001 ($11); Pasil Pie Franco 2000 ($10); Martinsancho 2000 ($13.50); Mantel Blanco 2000 ($9); Palacio de Bornos 2000 ($8).

• SAUVIGNON BLANC: Mantel Blanco 2000 ($10); Blanco Nieva 2001 ($12).

• BLENDS: Las Brisas (Bodegas Angel Lorenzo Cachazo) Rueda, Sauvignon Blanc 50 percent, Verdejo 50 percent 2001 ($7.50); Marqués de Riscal 2001 ($9).

• OTHER TOP PRODUCERS (whose wines we hope to see here soon): Aura; Gargi Grande; Oro de Castilla; Marques de Irun; Javier Sanz; Solar de Muñsancho; Felix Lorenzo; Garcia Révalo; Monasterio de Palazuelos; Castella de Medina.

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