Telmo Rodriguez Rueda Basa 2023

Region: Rueda, Spain

Grape Variety: 90% Verdejo & 10% Viura

Telmo Rodriguez got his winemaking start at his family estate in Rioja, Remelluri, which under the guidance of he and his sister has become an elite name in the region. Despite the sizable vineyard holdings of the winery Telmo wanted to experiment making other wines in Spain and travelled the country looking for old, often abandoned vineyards where he discovered a number of unique grape varieties. One of the first places he landed was in Rueda, at the time a poor and desolate region on the Portuguese border best known for producing sunflower oil. Although Basa was not the first example of Rueda to be imported into the US it was the one that caught wine critic Robert Parker’s fancy in the early 1990s and basically launched the category.

At the core of why this wine caused such a revolution was the freshness. Rueda is home to the Verdejo grape, an old variety that offers both exotic aromatics and bright, fresh textures. Although less popular in the US, Rueda is the go-to wine across Spain, virtually ubiquitous as the house white at nearly every restaurant. Basa remains a great example, with notes of candied lemon and tangerine peel, fresh gooseberry and a savory note of green olive. There is a little weight on the palate but generally this is a crisp, dry white perfect for seafood, chicken dishes or as a glass of wine after work.