What a treat to finish out the year for white wine with an offering that pushes all the buttons and epitomizes what we do as a company.
Great story? Check.
Master of Wine Julia Harding broke it down thusly, “Made from 100% Verdejo grapes, this fresh, zesty, lemon- and grapefruit-scented white wine is a delicious and great-value introduction to the Verdejo-obsessed wines of Ossian, a company founded in Segovia in Castilla y Léon in 2005 by Javier Zaccagnini and Ismael Gozalo with the aim of focusing exclusively on this variety, which Jancis (Robinson) describes in the Rueda entry of the Oxford Companion to Wine as 'Rueda's sleeping beauty'.
The heart of the Ossian project is their ungrafted pre-phylloxera Verdejo vineyard in the village of Nieva in the province of Segovia, north west of Madrid.”
Great Old Vines? Check.
“The 100- to 200-year-old bush vines have probably survived phylloxera because the soils, while varied, are generally sandy.”
Great Press? Check.
"Bright yellow-gold. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe citrus and orchard fruits, honeysuckle and dusty minerals, and a hint of chamomile builds in the glass. Juicy, mineral-driven melon and peach flavors stretch out and deepen while maintaining energy. Closes minerally and very long, with a resonating floral note. 91 points.” - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media
The Quintaluna de Ossian Verdejo Castilla y Leon 2015 is indeed 100% Verdejo from Rueda aged 9 months on the lees in stainless steel. Because the winemaker uses extended lees aging to make a more serious, complex style verdejo, the winery uses the Vinos de la Tierra De Castilla y Leon designation rather than the Rueda DO.
The wine is composed of 60% prephylloxera, ungrafted 100-200 year-old vines and 40% certified organic younger trellised vines.
The old vines and extended sur lie aging provide that richness and intensity that we don’t normally see from this variety while the younger vines inject more hum, verve and straight-forward fruit characters, the perfect combo.
In short, one of the more complete Verdejos for the money we’ve tasted in the last half dozen years.
Oh, yeah, one more thing.
Great Value? Check.
We’re selling the $19 retail Quintaluna de Ossian Verdejo Castilla y Leon 2015 for just $11.98 a bottlewhile stocks last on this one-shot deal.
Yup, all boxes checked…Happy New Year and Happy Hunting…
Quintaluna de Ossian Verdejo Castilla y Leon 2015
91 Points! Bright yellow-gold. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe citrus and orchard fruits, honeysuckle and dusty minerals, and a hint of chamomile builds in the glass. Juicy, mineral-driven melon and peach flavors stretch out and deepen while maintaining energy. Closes minerally and very long, with a resonating floral note. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media
