Belondrade Branco

Description

Belondrade Belondrade Quinta Apolonia is our most varietal expression of Verdejo and is named after Didier Belondrade’s eldest daughter, Apolline Belondrade. It is a clean and direct wine, refreshing yet surprisingly deep and complex. Its profile and character are quite different from its older brother “Belondrade y Lurton” – the iconic flagship of the Belondrade house. Apolonia can be seen as a mirror of the true face of Verdejo. **Vinification** The selected musts are subjected to spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, carried out separately according to plot and harvest date. The wines then age on their lees in French oak barrels. After a period of 9 to 12 months, a final selection and batching take place. The wine is then bottled and matures for at least six months before release. By five or six years, it begins to reveal the complexity and nuances of a great wine. The 2025 harvest was, at BELONDRADE, an exercise in balancing water, temperature, and constant work. The cycle began with a warmer-than-usual winter and prolonged fogs into late spring, creating moisture pockets. Because we practice biodynamic viticulture, the margin for intervention is necessarily limited, so vine monitoring was continuous and particularly demanding to control sanitary pressure. Spring was also very rainy but mild, and the absence of high temperatures during that period delayed bud break, extending the cycle and favouring slower, more controlled ripening. Summer, on the other hand, disrupted the rhythm. It was dry and extremely hot, with hail episodes on several plots that affected yield. The final balance resulted in a considerably smaller harvest than in 2024, but with a clear positive point: the grapes that did not suffer damage arrived at the cellar in extraordinary sanitary conditions, ideal for preserving freshness and acidity. The harvest began on September 1, in a staged, gradual manner, guided by constant sampling to pick each plot at its optimal ripening moment. Thanks to the excellent work of the field and cellar teams – and the rigorous triple selection of the grapes – the campaign finished on September 18. **Awards** 93/100 – DWA (2024) 92/100 – Guía Peñín (2024) **Allergen Information** Contains sulfites. **SKU**: 107473-1