The 2012 Belondrade y Lurton is Verdejo barrel-fermented with indigenous yeast, which aged for ten months in oak barrels, and is subtly smoky with aromas of toasted bread, sunflower seeds and almonds, with hints of complexity and good elegance. The palate reveals a medium-bodied wine with good structure, pungent flavors, very good acidity (especially for a dry, warm and late vintage as 2012), with the telltale bitter finish of the Verdejo. Very recognizable as Verdejo and Rueda, even if its barrel fermented. This is a subtle, elegant Rueda like few others. I’ve seen this wine age well in bottle (especially in large formats, magnum and double magnum), and I have no doubt this should age gracefully. Perhaps it is not comparable because of climatic conditions, but 2007 is drinking beautifully now. Drink now-2019. I still remember when the first vintage of Belondrade and Lurton was launched like it was yesterday. That was the 1994 vintage, and it must have been in 1996. It was by far the most ambitious white wine produced in Spain for a long time and it immediately became the best white of the country. It was produced in a Burgundian way, barrel-fermented, and aimed for long to medium-term consumption. It broke the tradition of young and fruity, cheap and cheerful, inox-fermented army of white wines that had ruled the country since Rioja stopped believing in their oak-aged Viura. It was a revolution, and the beginning of the recovery of white wine in Spain. Belondrade remained at the helm for a very long time, and today it’s still one of the top whites not only from Rueda, but from Spain. It has been fine-tuned through the years and with each vintage the oak seems a little better integrated, and the wine reveals more freshness and balance. Importer: Vinovi & Co., Ferndale, MI; tel. (248) 930-0950; www.vinovico.com