VERDEJO: SPAIN

+MUST TRY+Angel Rodriguez Martinsancho VerdejoEspana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2009
$15.99
90 pts
I really like this wine. Enjoyed a few glasses on a steamy summer evening on the veranda of The Boulevard Inn (St. Joseph, MI) with Dana recently, and I was blown away. It's grassy, herbal, floral and vegetal (green on all counts), with a fresh green melon nose, too. Unbelievably refreshing. And there's also some nice complementary minerality on the finish, with an above-average length. The fruit definitely takes a back seat to the herbs, flowers and green vegetables (melon most prevalent on the bouquet, not in the mouth), so it's possible some might not fall head-over-heels here on first taste. But this is a remarkably complex, tasty and rewarding wine: it feels good, makes you think (about what you're tasting), and cools you down. Now this is the way to get your vegetables. This one's a +MUST TRY+!

+RUN AWAY NOW+Poligono 10 Verdejo (by Bodega Gotica)
Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2007
$7.99 on sale
75 pts
Well, it took me a long, long time, but I finally found a verdejo I don't like. Not that I was searching for one. It's just that I was beginning to think, perhaps, that this grape couldn't possibly be used to make wine that tastes bad. I like it that much. But the Bodega Gotica Poligono 10, I couldn't even bring myself to finish the contents of such a beautiful translucent blue bottle. This may sound crazy, but for starters, the color of this wine tastes terrible. Darker than any verdejo I've ever seen--the color of apple juice, or urine after one has consumed way too much beer (so I've heard)--it looked bad in the glass, unappealing, unpleasant, just strange. The bouquet was dominated by flowers, not a bad thing, but once in the mouth, it felt a little heavy for verdejo, then offered sort of a flat floral note, intense minerality, and a very tiny hint of citrus...all in about a second-and-a-half, before it vanished, entirely. The fact that this wine has almost no length is a good thing, since it looks, feels and tastes unpleasant. The various flavors it flashes can be brilliant if each tastes good on its own and they coordinate somehow, form a nice whole, offer balance. But here it's just a mess. The producer's website waxes poetic about this wine, even suggesting that "The yellow-greenish colours praise the sparkles of its luminosity." Nice effort, but I'm afraid that no amount of hyperbole can redeem this one. I say RUN AWAY NOW. Great grape, bad wine.

+MUST TRY+Rueda Naia (by Bodegas Naia - Vina Sila)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2006
$17.99
95 pts
The BEST verdejo I have ever tasted. Cool, crisp and refreshing up front, with just the right amount of sweetness and citrus fruit (along with hints of freshly-mown grass); on the back end, long and so smooth. One of the best wines I've ever had. Tasted it for the first time at La Sala at La Valencia Hotel, on our spring 2009 trip to La Jolla, CA. This is one of my favorite wines. Available at Whole Foods for a few dollars less than above, too.

Castillo de Nava Verdejo (by Castillo de Nava)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo + Viura (white)
2006
88+ pts
Sold by the glass at Dunlay's for $9.00; a tasty & refreshing Verdejo, with strong citrus (hint of pineapple) and a crisp front end; good, but not as good as the Bodegas Naia Verdejo, which has a very long, smooth, near-perfect finish.

VSolo Verdejo (by VSolo)Espana: Castilla y Leon, Vallodolid (Rueda)
Verdejo 100% (white)
2008
$9.99
87 pts
Not a bad little wine for $10.00 (was on sale, regularly priced at 11.00 at Whole Foods)...but not a top-shelf Verdejo, either. The color of this wine is clear, almost like water, and the nose is quite nice, full of pineapple, especially. A first tasting reveals a lot of pineapple, as well, and it's not overly sweet (a plus for me). After breathing a while, the VSolo Verdejo does provide a bit more complexity, with a mineral element in addition to the pinapple that is not unpleasant. But this is a simple straightforward wine possessing a clear pineapple focus, with very little finish at all. It just seems to disappear during the midpalette, never to return. A little more complexity in flavor and any finish at all to speak of, and this could have been a MUST TRY. Still might be a good buy for those who love pineapple, and the price is right (marketed by the food chain as a Top 10 Summer Wine). Also, as a 2008 vintage, this is obviously a young wine. Might mature a bit with time. Will probably pick up another bottle and set it aside for a year or two, and see what happens. The name VSolo refers to the fact that this wine is made from the Verdejo varietal only.

Paso A Paso Verdejo (by Paso A Paso)Espana: La Mancha
Verdejo (white)
2007
$10.99
85 pts
This is an okay Verdejo, but not great, and even though the $11.00 price tag is quite reasonable, the Rueda Naia (at $17.99) and even the Castillo de Nava are so much better, that I can't justify buying this one again. Has a tight nose that doesn't open up much even after airing, and while the pear flavor is nice at first, there is a somewhat overpowering bitterness that follows, and lingers on the finish. Nice acid, though. In terms of color, this wine is so light, so clear, it almost resembles water (although in fairness it doesn't taste as light as it looks, and has some degree of substance to it). Overall, I find this to be an average grade verdejo...and isn't life just too short to settle for average when the price difference is so close?

+MUST TRY+Monte Palma Verdejo (by Monte Palma Winery)
Verdejo 100% (white)
Espana: Rueda (Segovia)
2008
$11.99
89 pts
Lincoln Park Market began carrying this Verdejo, recently, and we picked up a bottle there to share with family on Father's Day...and I'm really glad we did. At $12.00, this is a tremendous find. This wine has a beautiful straw color with hints of green. The bouquet is exceptional, with a delightful citrus aroma that seems to jump from the glass upon the slightest twirl. The taste begins with grapefruit, and finishes with pear, offering a complexity not common to wines in this price range. This wine is made to be consumed upon production, but setting aside a bottle or two for a year may be interesting. Even now, this is a nice affordable verdejo, a great summer wine for sipping on the deck, at the pool, or with appetizers or white grilled meats (I'd even say regular pizza, too). Not as remarkable as the Naia (rated above), one of the best wines I've ever tasted. But for $12.00, as an everyday wine that goes great with a lot of different foods, or alone--if Spanish whites were a baseball team, I'd want the Monte Palma Verdejo to be my shortstop.