Vidal Soblechero

Rueda

Location La Seca, Rueda (declassified)
Grapes Viura, Verdejo, Tinto Fino
Viticulture Biodynamic, Organic
Producer Alicia Vidal Soblechero
Website pagosdevillavendimia.es
Location La Seca, Rueda (declassified)
Grapes Viura, Verdejo, Tinto Fino
Viticulture Biodynamic, Organic
Producer Alicia Vidal Soblechero
Website pagosdevillavendimia.es

I think most people have now dismissed Rueda as a one stop shop for cheap whites and the occasional aspirational made Verdejo. I had, so it was with trepidation that I motored down to La Seca just east of the village of Rueda to meet Vidal and his sister Alicia on a tip off from a friend that these were some of the best white wines in Spain. Not just Rueda, but Spain. We visited every parcel of vines, most over 100 years old, all bush trained (the rest of Rueda is now given over to trellising for machine harvesting), each parcel a different make up of soil exposure and variety (Viura and Verdejo with a plot of Tinto Fina). Here standing in front of me was a man who treated his vineyards with the same reverence one expects to find in Burgundy. 


But the wines. I confess I was expecting something good, I know these varieties, but I was still sceptical. The first wine, drawn from a 600 litre Damy barrel and coming from the Buena Vista vineyard, located in the north of the region by the river was a complete jaw dropper. And so it went, cuvée after cuvée, then the bottled wines (these are released after 4 years in bottle, so we are on 2011 now) and each one as magical as the next. Only 700 bottles of each finca are produced and each one fermented differently from the next.

Vidal Soblechero Wines

Finca El Escribiente 100% Verdejo. 100 year old vines are on north facing hillside plot of mixed limestone and sandy soils. Natural vinification in stainless steel withh 11 months lees ageing. You may raise your eyebrows here and assume a rather plain, and at 2018 a rather old, wine. However, Alicia and Vidal Vidal conjour extra-ordinary juice from exceptionally old bush vines. Their attention to harmonious vineyard management includes using a hawk to manage pests. Everything is hand harvested in the cool of night and the winery is only a stones throw from the vineyards so hopefully you get the idea that we are philosophicaly a long way from the densely trellised, machine harvested fun-whites that Rueda has become known for. In classic Spanish style all wines are aged prior to release for all cuvees. 2018 is the current vintage and it billows with ripe melon textured with honeysuckle. The finish is lively and engaging with crisp green apple skin and rolled whole lime.
Finca El Alto 100% Verdejo. 90yo bush vines,calcerous subsoil with pebbles on top. These wines are brought up with an approach more familiar in Burgundy than Rueda. The first year in spent in 300ltr new French oak barrels with careful stirring of the fine lees over this period. Incredibly clean and elegant with notes of tangerine, white peach and eucalyptus. A seam of dried fruits and toasted hazelnut runs gently throughout adding texture. 700 bottles total production.
Finca Buenavista 100% Verdejo. 80yo on sandy subsoil with giant pebbles. Alicia and Vidal believe that sandy soils produce a more delicate grape and therefore this wine is raised in a 600ltr Damy barrel and is the wine that first grabbed our attention. We had been tipped off that these wines were the best whites not just in Rueda but in Spain. It's a pretty bold statement and one that you always mull over on the journey to the winery. The first sip of Buena Vista was jaw dropping and we are as excited about these wines today as we were then. Buenavista is always the first cuvee to be ready and shows a soft palate of white flowers, dried apricot, almond with a refeshingly grippy finish of aromatic herbs and cedar. 650 bottles.
Finca El Salvaje 100% Verdejo. Limestone subsoil with pebbles on top. No SO2 added and only 400 bottles made.
Finca Las Sernas 100% Tinta Fina. Tiny production of 1150 bottles from some of the oldest vines in the region. These gnarly bush vines sit on alluvial topsoil densly packed with heat-retaining pebbles. Calcerous subsoil runs underneath. Manual harvest, selection and destemming is completed before a 14 day, whole bunch maceration at 29c maximum. The juice goes through malo in new French oak barrels where it will age for 16mth. Bottled unfined, unfiltered with no So2
Finca El Escribiente 100% Verdejo. Vines are on north facing hillside plot of mixed limestone and sandy soils. Vinfied in stainless steel you may raise your eyebrows here and assume a rather plain, and at 2016 a rather old, wine. However, Alicia and Vidal Vidal conjour extra-ordinary juice from exceptionally old bush vines. Their attention to harmonious vineyard management includes using a hawk to manage pests. Everything is hand harvested in the cool of night and the winery is only a stones throw from the vineyards so hopefully you get the idea that we are philosophicaly a long way from the densly trellised, machine harvested fun-whites that Rueda has become known for. In classic Spanish style all wines are aged prior to release for all cuvees. 2016 is the current vintage and it billows with ripe melon textured with honeysuckle. The finish is lively and engaging with crisp green apple skin and rolled whole lime.
Finca El Alto 100% Verdejo. 90yo bush vines,calcerous subsoil with pebbles on top. These wines are brought up with an approach more familiar in Burgundy than Rueda. The first year in spent in 300ltr new French oak barrels with careful stirring of the fine lees over this period. Incredibly clean and elegant with notes of tangerine, white peach and eucalyptus. A seam of dried fruits and toasted hazelnut runs gently throughout adding texture. 700 bottles total production.
Finca Buenavista 100% Verdejo. 80yo on sandy subsoil with giant pebbles. Alicia and Vidal believe that sandy soils produce a more delicate grape and therefore this wine is raised in a 600ltr Damy barrel and is the wine that first grabbed our attention. We had been tipped off that these wines were the best whites not just in Rueda but in Spain. It's a pretty bold statement and one that you always mull over on the journey to the winery. The first sip of Buena Vista was jaw dropping and we are as excited about these wines today as we were then. Buenavista is always the first cuvee to be ready and shows a soft palate of white flowers, dried apricot, almond with a refeshingly grippy finish of aromatic herbs and cedar. 650 bottles.
Finca Las Sernas 100% Tinta Fina. Tiny production of 1150 bottles from some of the oldest vines in the region. These gnarly bush vines sit on alluvial topsoil densly packed with heat-retaining pebbles. Calcerous subsoil runs underneath. Manual harvest, selection and destemming is completed before a 14 day, whole bunch maceration at 29c maximum. The juice goes through malo in new French oak barrels where it will age for 16mth. Bottled unfined, unfiltered with no So2