Manuel Cantalapiedra "Lirondo" Verdejo 2023

Honeysuckle and stone fruit meet refreshing acidity in this 100% Verdejo, organically grown in its ancestral home of Rueda in Castilla y León. Winemaker Manuel Cantalapiedra employs biodynamic practices in the vineyard, harvesting grapes by hand from old parcels and fermenting with indigenous yeasts. This wine sees a quick 12 hours of skin contact – which gives a touch of spice and tannin on the palate – before spending eight months on the fine lees, resulting in a medium-bodied wine that can stand up to flavorful, dense meals.

Manuel Cantalapiedra and his father Isaac set up a family project in 2014 in La Seca (Valladolidad), in Rueda, the heart of the leading Denomination of Origin for the Verdejo variety. A project where they ecologically cultivate 21 hectares of vineyards and produce wines with minimal intervention. Contrary to the commercial demands that have made the Verdejo variety fashionable, this winery seeks the essential expression of the variety and the terroir.

The Lirondo vineyards stand out for the “Las Escuclillas” plot, which has the perfect conditions for cultivating the Verdejo variety. These are old strains planted in silty soil and boulders at an altitude of 750 metres above sea level in a severe continental climate with thermal contrasts between day and night. They use 100% organic agriculture with biodynamic treatments that protect the balance of the terroir and prevent possible diseases. The harvest is carried out manually at the optimum moment of ripeness.