Winery: Veronica Ortega
Region: D.O. Bierzo
Vintage: 2023
Bottle: 75 cl
Grape Varieties: 100% Palomino.
Type: White wine, aged under a veil of flor.
Alcohol Volume: 12.5% vol.
Serving Temperature: 14°–16°
Roto is Verónica Ortega's most unique and exclusive white wine, made entirely from the Palomino grape and crafted in limited quantities. To produce it, Veronica has recuperated this variety, a rare find in the region, and revived the traditional method of ageing under a natural veil of flor yeast.
The grapes come from a very small plot of just 0.5 hectares planted with the Palomino variety, situated in the village of Cobrana, within the Bierzo DO. The vines, which are between 90 and 100 years old, grow in heavily weathered slate soil over red clay at an altitude of around 750 metres above sea level.
Production:
Hand-harvested. Whole grapes are pressed in a pneumatic press and undergo fermentation with indigenous yeasts at relatively high temperatures in a stainless steel vat. The wine then is aged for 13 months under a flor layer in 500 and 600-litre sherry casks that previously contained manzanilla sherry.
Limited production of 900 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
A pale, clear, and straw-yellow, this white wine boasts a distinct Atlantic character. A serious, dry wine, yet remarkably refreshing. Marked mineral and floral notes of manzanilla are intermixed with light hints of dry nuts and a citrus background. Intense on the palate, its excellent acidity delivers superb freshness and a lively structure.
Veronica Ortega, originally from Cadiz, belongs to the new generation of young winemakers: perfectionist, enthusiastic, talented, and most of all, innovative and restless. With a formidable CV when it comes to winemaking, Veronica can boast of having gained expertise at some of the world’s greatest wineries, including Clos Erasmus and Alvaro Palacios in Priorat, Domaine de la Romanée Conti in Burgundy, Domaine Combier in the Rhone, and Niepoort, among others.
Her personal project takes off in 2010 when she relocates to the Bierzo village of Valtuille de Abajo and begins producing her own wines from two very old vineyards of Mencia farmed ecologically. Her wines have proved to be a great success, earning her high recognition among the region's winemakers.
