2022 Belondrade y Lurton: 18.5 points, Jancis Robinson

'Extremely complex, sophisticated nose. Mouth-filling and creamy. You could confuse this with an absolutely tip-top white bordeaux, but perhaps this is better! Like fermented lemon drops. Really gorgeous flavours and texture. Utterly compelling.'
18.5 points, Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com, February 2025

A 'pago' in Spanish is a rural estate. In the early 2000s, a small group of like-minded winemakers formed an association to defend the value of distinctive, individual terroirs, in the face of what they saw as increasingly homogeneous, international-stye wines. That association quickly grew into the Grandes Pagos de España, 'Spain's great estates'. There are currently 34 members, representing the very best of what this diverse country has to offer the world of wine. Writing in the FT last weekend (and on jancisrobinson.com), Jancis Robinson reports on a recent comparative tasting of wines from all of these 34 top estates. The clear winner, with a top score of 18.5 points, was 2022 Belondrade y Lurton.  

Belondrade y Lurton comes from Rueda, on the wide-open plains of Castille, where it's scorching in summer, and freezing in winter. The Belondrade story began when hispanophile Frenchman Didier Belondrade spotted the unrealized potential of the long-neglected, local Verdejo grape variety. He began vinifying Rueda Verdejo with barrel fermentation and aging. The Verdejo loved it. 

The first vintage was 1994 (which was also the year Uncorked opened its doors), and success followed success. Pretty soon, critic Robert Parker referred to Belondrade y Lurton as 'one of the two greatest dry whites being made in Spain'. These days, Didier's son Jean is running the show. Winemaker Marta Baquerizo has been making the wines since 1999, and the consistency she achieves is impressive. For the excellent 2022 vintage that Jancis admires, think stonefruit, fennel, beeswax and the discreet signature of some very posh oak. /NT