Manuel Cantalapiedra – 37 yo - is leading the new wave of Verdejo - cutting through the industrial face of Rueda to reveal the raw, mineral soul of the Castilian plateau. Based in La Seca, the family roots go back to the 19th century. Long focused on selling grapes, the turning point came in 2014 when Manuel built his own cellar and began bottling estate wines. Today, he farms ~20 hectares (certified organic, with biodynamic practices), centered on old-vine Verdejo, complemented by rare parcels: pre-phylloxera vines (1894), ungrafted old vines and unique sites across the region. Farming is dry, low-intervention, and driven by precision - late harvests for full phenolic ripeness while preserving the natural tension of the high-altitude meseta.

In the cellar: native fermentations, ageing in tank or used oak, little to no sulfur. Unfined and unfiltered. The wines - whether unfiltered, flor-aged, or single-vineyard - are pure, vibrant, and deeply terroir-driven.

A new interpretation of Verdejo: raw, saline, reductive, alive. Don’t expect typical Spanish white here - this is something entirely different. It is evident that Manu’s wines speak a very distinct language. In the glass, the wines showes a grand, white-Burgundy-like structure, driven by piercing freshness reminiscent of great Chenin Blanc, and layered with a refined, sensual minerality recalling the Southern Jura. There is an undeniable energy — wines that are alive — yet carried with a quiet nobility that make it the most hyped Spanish whites nowadays.