The SommSelect Wine Team is excited to showcase a unicorn revelation from the overlooked Spanish D.O. Rueda—a pedigree experience for fans of serious Iberian wine. While Verdejo has long played second fiddle to the crisp, ocean-sprayed snap of Galician Albariño, it hides a massive surprise when sourced from ancient vines and treated with the uncompromising devotion of a Burgundian Grand Cru. The 2021 Belondrade y Lurton is exactly that masterpiece, earning 95 points from Wine Advocate and 94 points from Vinous Media. It masterfully marries the rich, unctuous texture of a classic Côte de Beaune Meursault with the vibrant, razor-sharp, flinty precision of a Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé.

This bottle introduces you to a high-altitude sanctuary bordered by the hearty Tempranillo country of Toro to the west and Ribera del Duero to the east along the Duero River, which eventually flows into Portugal to carve out the Douro Valley. Yet, instead of the simple, stainless-steel crowd-pleasers common to these sun-baked plains, the secret to this wine’s astonishing architecture lies in the estate's Quinta San Diego vineyard, where 30-to-75-year-old vines dig deep into rocky limestone soils. Fermented with native yeasts and aged on its fine lees in French oak, the 2021 vintage has beautifully shed its youthful primary fruit. With a few years of crucial bottle age under its belt, it now carries the weight, volume, and smoky complexity of a top-tier Pessac-Léognan, reminiscent of an evolved Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc.

For SommSelect members who curate their collection around structural integrity, complexity, and sheer ageability, this is the ultimate blind-tasting wild card. It will easily masquerade as prestigious French terroir, only hinting at its Spanish roots with a noble flash of wild fennel and a signature, savory bitter-almond snap on the finish. Belondrade y Lurton didn’t just elevate an unfamiliar appellation with this flagship release; they created a genuine cellaring legend that proves old-vine Verdejo can go toe-to-toe with the greatest white wines in the world.

¡Viva España! 

Critical Acclaim:

95 Points, Wine Advocate: 

“The 2021 Belondrade y Lurton is showing superb, pure, crystalline, clean, pure and expressive, delicate, elegant and subtle. The oak feels perfectly integrated despite being a very young wine. It has notes of white flowers, orange peel, hints of peach and dry hay and is quite varietal, with a faint bitter twist on the finish that, to me, is a textbook descriptor of the Verdejos from yesteryear.”

94 Points, Vinous Media:

“The 2021 Belondrade y Lurton, primarily Verdejo with a pinch of Viognier, hails from the DO Rueda. With a golden hue, aromas of lemon zest, asparagus and peaches unfold against a backdrop of toasted bread and flora. Creamy, ample and velvety on the palate, the well-calibrated acidity unleashes a flavorful finish. This nuanced Verdejo is nicely supported by oak aging.”