Rosé Wine

Belondrade

Quinta Clarisa 2023, 75cl

VT Castilla Y Léon

Belondrade

Although the Belondrade family is renowned for their white wines, when they acquired coveted Verdejo parcels, they also had to acquire a plot of Tempranillo and Syrah. Despite not initially planning to cultivate these grape varieties, the winery’s founder, Didier, wanted to create something special with them. It was decided that these grapes would produce a rosé wine in homage to his youngest daughter: Clarisa.

This was an intriguing choice because at Belondrade, they believe in the power of blending, and although it consists of two different varieties (which is also unique for Belondrade), this is indeed the only wine from a single plot that they produce.

Sourced from a small parcel of Tempranillo on sandy soils, harvested by hand all at once. Made only with the free-run juice after a one-day maceration. The blend is 75% Tempranillo and 25% Syrah, with the Syrah adding pleasant spices to this rosé. After spontaneous fermentation, a special touch is added to the wine, which rests on the lees of some Verdejo grapes. This unique approach adds creaminess to the wine and rounds it out.

Another technique that adds additional depth is barrel fermentation. About 10% of the wine undergoes this method, a technique that can be seen as part of the Belondrade signature.

The result is a rosé wine with the soul of a red wine and the structure of a white wine. Truly unique!

Awards

92/ 100 – DWA
91/ 100 – Guía Peñín

Allergens information

Contains sulphites.

Belondrade

All great stories begin with a dream. Didier Belondrade’s was none other than to create a White Wine with a capital “W” in the land of Cervantes.

The idea germinated in 1992, when the French couple Didier Belondrade and Brigitte Lurton tasted their first Verdejo wine. Love at first sight! Making wine and the wine business were not new to them, with deep roots in Bordeaux, but this wine made them think about a new project. And in 1994, the foundation stone of the project was laid with the establishment in Nava Del Rey, a solid commitment to the Castilian plateau terroir and an indigenous grape variety: Verdejo.

And in 1996, the dream materialized with the launch of the first vintage; for the first time, BELONDRADE Y LURTON earned a place on Spain’s finest tables. Thanks to an excellent reception from critics and customers, BELONDRADE’s reputation echoed across the world. The first steps were taken in the Japanese and American markets.

Three years later, with the aim of making BELONDRADE a “Bordeaux château in Spain,” it was essential to establish the project’s foundation on a key principle: owning its vineyards. This is how Quinta San Diego began to take shape with the planting of the first four parcels: “Tomillar Grande,” “Tomillar Pequeño,” “Camino Ventosa,” and “Bodega.”

Today, BELONDRADE has 40 hectares of its own vineyards divided into 23 parcels of different sizes. This mosaic of vineyards produces very different musts depending on the type of soil of each parcel, their orientation, age, rootstocks, and clones.

BELONDRADE’s vineyard is located about 750 meters above sea level and a few kilometers from the Douro River near Tordesillas. The climate is continental with low rainfall (between 300 and 350 mm per year), characterized by long, cold winters and short, hot summers, with a large temperature difference between day and night.

The plateau soils are of Cenozoic (or Tertiary) origin; they formed about 60 million years ago and are characterized by their low organic matter content. They are mainly composed of a layer of rolled pebbles about 10 to 60 centimeters deep, a subsoil layer of clay, and a deep layer of limestone. In each of the parcels, varying percentages of rolled pebbles, sand, and clay mix, giving the musts a unique personality and style.

The planting density ranges from 1,100 to 3,300 plants per hectare, with an average yield of 30 to 35 hectoliters per hectare. 100% of the vineyard is owned by the company, with an average age of twenty-five years.

As a proponent of sustainable and environmentally friendly viticulture, BELONDRADE practices organic viticulture without herbicides or pesticides. In this way, it fosters the biodiversity present in the vineyard and moves closer to the most natural and authentic expression of the “terroir.”