Family Article
Bodegas Ordoñez Rueda Old Vines Nisia
Last edited on 7/21/2023 by BottleScholar
This is the only version of this article / View version history
NV Tech Sheet:https://www.jorgeordonezselections.com/web-documents/wine-67/Nisia%20Sellsheet.pdf
History
Historically, D.O. Rueda is one of Spain’s finest white winemaking regions. When the capital of Castilla y León
was in Valladolid, the wines of Rueda (and those of Toro) were celebrated by the Spanish medieval court.
The most important indigenous grape in Rueda is Verdejo, named for the green hue of the skins. For centuries
Rueda produced quality Verdejo, but was annihilated by the phylloxera, which wiped out two thirds of the
region’s vineyards. When American rootstocks were selected for grafting, they were chosen for productivity,
not quality. This focus on quantity over quality defined the region for much of the 20th century, until several
important producers resuscitated the region’s commitment to quality in the 1970’s. Today, most of the region
is focused on bulk wine from newer clones of Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc. These vineyards are typically
planted in the central part of the appellation, which is defined by extremely productive red clay soils. There
are small pockets of extremely old, ungrafted vineyards of the original clones of Verdejo in the south-eastern
part of the appellation. It is Bodegas Ordóñez’s goal to find and champion these authentic vineyards.
Vineyard
Nisia is produced from several ungrafted, head trained, and dry farmed vineyard sites surrounding the town
of Puras in the south-eastern sub-region of D.O. Rueda. These vineyard sites were planted between 80 and
60 years ago, on extremely sandy soils that are intermixed with river stones. These are soils that were
deposited in this part of Rueda thousands of years ago by the Duero River. These sandy soils prevented the
phylloxera from entering this subzone, so although the vineyards were planted between 1940 and 1960,
they are all ungrafted. They are also head trained, dry farmed, and cared for using the most traditional
methods of viticulture possible. These practices reduce the yields of the vines and create a more authentic
expression of Verdejo in the final wine, that moves beyond the simple, commercialized, watery wines from
Rueda that now flood the market.
Winemaking
The grapes are hand harvested, sorted rigorously, and pressed by a small pneumatic press. The must is cold
settled, and 60% of the volume is racked into large format, 500L & 600L Burgundian oak puncheons and
demi-muids for fermentation. These barrels are all third use through older neutral barrels from the foundation
of the winery in 2011. The remaining 40% of the must remains in stainless steel for fermentation. The
fermentation is carried out and the wine remains on the lees for 6-8 months after the fermentation,
depending on the harvest and vintage conditions. Our goal stylistically is to produce serious, age worth
Verdejo from Rueda. Nisia is a wine that will blossom in the bottle and although it is lively and fresh upon
release, will develop tremendous secondary and tertiary characteristics due to the sur lie ageing and barrel
fermentation. Our use of neutral barrels for the fermentation allows a fine micro-oxygenation of the wine,
which balances out the reductive conditions created by sur lie ageing. Simply, the care for our old, original
clone Verdejo vineyards and serious winemaking produce an atypical and uncommonly serious Verdejo.
History
Historically, D.O. Rueda is one of Spain’s finest white winemaking regions. When the capital of Castilla y León
was in Valladolid, the wines of Rueda (and those of Toro) were celebrated by the Spanish medieval court.
The most important indigenous grape in Rueda is Verdejo, named for the green hue of the skins. For centuries
Rueda produced quality Verdejo, but was annihilated by the phylloxera, which wiped out two thirds of the
region’s vineyards. When American rootstocks were selected for grafting, they were chosen for productivity,
not quality. This focus on quantity over quality defined the region for much of the 20th century, until several
important producers resuscitated the region’s commitment to quality in the 1970’s. Today, most of the region
is focused on bulk wine from newer clones of Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc. These vineyards are typically
planted in the central part of the appellation, which is defined by extremely productive red clay soils. There
are small pockets of extremely old, ungrafted vineyards of the original clones of Verdejo in the south-eastern
part of the appellation. It is Bodegas Ordóñez’s goal to find and champion these authentic vineyards.
Vineyard
Nisia is produced from several ungrafted, head trained, and dry farmed vineyard sites surrounding the town
of Puras in the south-eastern sub-region of D.O. Rueda. These vineyard sites were planted between 80 and
60 years ago, on extremely sandy soils that are intermixed with river stones. These are soils that were
deposited in this part of Rueda thousands of years ago by the Duero River. These sandy soils prevented the
phylloxera from entering this subzone, so although the vineyards were planted between 1940 and 1960,
they are all ungrafted. They are also head trained, dry farmed, and cared for using the most traditional
methods of viticulture possible. These practices reduce the yields of the vines and create a more authentic
expression of Verdejo in the final wine, that moves beyond the simple, commercialized, watery wines from
Rueda that now flood the market.
Winemaking
The grapes are hand harvested, sorted rigorously, and pressed by a small pneumatic press. The must is cold
settled, and 60% of the volume is racked into large format, 500L & 600L Burgundian oak puncheons and
demi-muids for fermentation. These barrels are all third use through older neutral barrels from the foundation
of the winery in 2011. The remaining 40% of the must remains in stainless steel for fermentation. The
fermentation is carried out and the wine remains on the lees for 6-8 months after the fermentation,
depending on the harvest and vintage conditions. Our goal stylistically is to produce serious, age worth
Verdejo from Rueda. Nisia is a wine that will blossom in the bottle and although it is lively and fresh upon
release, will develop tremendous secondary and tertiary characteristics due to the sur lie ageing and barrel
fermentation. Our use of neutral barrels for the fermentation allows a fine micro-oxygenation of the wine,
which balances out the reductive conditions created by sur lie ageing. Simply, the care for our old, original
clone Verdejo vineyards and serious winemaking produce an atypical and uncommonly serious Verdejo.