The Rueda wine region is located in the Duero river valley, about 90 miles northwest of Madrid, in the middle of Spain's high central plateau. The climate is continental, with cold winters, late frosts, and hot, dry summers. Rueda Blanco made from the local Verdejo grape was produced during the Roman empire and was drunk in the Spanish Court when it resided in Valladolid during the middle ages. It continued to be an important white wine until it nearly disappeared after phylloxera wiped out almost all the vineyards in the early 20th Century. When it came time to replant, the more famous and productive grape, Palomino from Jerez, was used and it wasn’t until the famed Rioja producer Marques de Riscal produced a Rueda using Verdejo in the 70s that the grape began its comeback, becoming the most popular white wine in Spain in the 1990s. That popularity has continued to grow. Founded in 2004 by Jorge Ordoñez, one of the country’s most important producers and exporters, his goal is to make exemplary Rueda that shows the full potential of the region and grape. The vines used for this wine are between 60 and 110 years old and are mostly on their own roots due to the sandy and riverstone soils in the far south-eastern portion of the DOP. The grapes are farmed organically and the wine ages in neutral barrels and puncheons on its lees, which is a big departure compared to standard, stainless steel aged Rueda. Flavors of green melon, yellow apple skin, yellow grapefruit, lime and almond paste that has great intensity and acidity that would go with grilled seafood and chicken.