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Buy Wine from Bodegas y Viñedos Shaya
The Rueda Denomination of Origin extends through the central part of the Duero basin, southwest of the province of Valladolid and reaching some municipalities of Segovia and Ávila. Here, on a rough high plateau, where the wind blows fiercely over seemingly endless fields, grows the most iconic white variety on the Spanish scene: the Verdejo. This grape, ancestral and perfectly adapted to the extreme climatic conditions of the plateau, found its natural home in Rueda centuries ago. Its deep roots, which seek humidity in stony and sandy soils, reflect the resilience of a territory that demands respect.
Shaya - Viticulture of Resistance
It is in this context that Bodegas Shaya emerges, a young project but one that draws from a much older underground history. Founded in 2008 as part of the Gil Family Estates group, Shaya has been able to reclaim the uniqueness of the old goblet-planted Verdejo vineyards, some over 100 years old, located in the east of Segovia, where the altitude exceeds 800 metres and viticulture becomes heroic. There are no trellises here: only twisted vines, almost like wind sculptures, surviving in soils of sand, gravel and clay, poor in organic matter, but rich in history and authenticity.
A Verdejo without make-up
Unlike many other Rueda wineries that have opted for a more productive and mechanised viticulture, Shaya decided from the beginning to preserve traditional viticulture. The choice is not anecdotal, but strategic and aesthetic at the same time. Because Verdejo, when it comes from these old vineyards, loses all the tropical imposture that sometimes defines it in the popular imagination, and reveals its true identity: notes of fennel, tense citrus, green apple and an elegant and precise, almost saline, bitter finish.
Climate as an ally of varietal expression
The thermal amplitude of the area - with hot days of around 35ºC and nights as low as 10ºC even in summer - favours slow ripening and a singular aromatic concentration. The extreme continental climate also significantly reduces the risk of disease, allowing for cleaner and more respectful agriculture, often without the need for intensive chemical treatments.
Instinct as a winemaking philosophy
The name " Shaya " comes from an indigenous deer that lives in the nearby pine forests. And this is no coincidence: the winery's philosophy is very wild and instinctive. Winemaker Belén Sanz, who has worked for years with the oldest vineyards in the area, has opted for spontaneous fermentation, ageing on the lees and minimal intervention in the cellar. In her best cuvées, such as Shaya Habis, part of the wine is fermented in French oak barrels and aged for months on its own lees, developing an unusual structure for a white wine from Rueda: texture, volume, nerve. It is not a wine of thirst: it is a wine of pause.
Two interpretations of the same essence
The difference between Shaya and Shaya Habis is a lesson in terroir and style. While the former shows a more direct, clean Verdejo, with white fruit and linear freshness, the latter invites you to dig deeper: notes of bitter almond, dried flowers, wax, smoke and a minerality reminiscent of wet chalk. A white for cellaring, if you are patient.
Singularity in a sea of industrial production
The most curious thing about the project is that, in an environment dominated by cooperatives and industrial production, Shaya has managed to position itself as a boutique reference in Spain and abroad. It exports a large part of its production to demanding markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, where its less "commercial" and more authentic style is especially valued.
Verdejos from the very edge of the appellation
Moreover, many of its vineyards are located outside the geographical "heart" of Rueda, in less explored areas of Segovia, where the landscape is drier, the soil sandier and the altitude more extreme. It is precisely in these margins where Shaya has found its space. A Verdejo far removed from fashions, closer to character than to complacency, which shows that not all Rueda whites have to be light, tropical or for immediate consumption.
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Buy Wine from Bodegas y Viñedos Shaya
The Rueda Denomination of Origin extends through the central part of the Duero basin, southwest of the province of Valladolid and reaching some municipalities of Segovia and Ávila. Here, on a rough high plateau, where the wind blows fiercely over seemingly endless fields, grows the most iconic white variety on the Spanish scene: the Verdejo. This grape, ancestral and perfectly adapted to the extreme climatic conditions of the plateau, found its natural home in Rueda centuries ago. Its deep roots, which seek humidity in stony and sandy soils, reflect the resilience of a territory that demands respect.
Shaya - Viticulture of Resistance
It is in this context that Bodegas Shaya emerges, a young project but one that draws from a much older underground history. Founded in 2008 as part of the Gil Family Estates group, Shaya has been able to reclaim the uniqueness of the old goblet-planted Verdejo vineyards, some over 100 years old, located in the east of Segovia, where the altitude exceeds 800 metres and viticulture becomes heroic. There are no trellises here: only twisted vines, almost like wind sculptures, surviving in soils of sand, gravel and clay, poor in organic matter, but rich in history and authenticity.
A Verdejo without make-up
Unlike many other Rueda wineries that have opted for a more productive and mechanised viticulture, Shaya decided from the beginning to preserve traditional viticulture. The choice is not anecdotal, but strategic and aesthetic at the same time. Because Verdejo, when it comes from these old vineyards, loses all the tropical imposture that sometimes defines it in the popular imagination, and reveals its true identity: notes of fennel, tense citrus, green apple and an elegant and precise, almost saline, bitter finish.
Climate as an ally of varietal expression
The thermal amplitude of the area - with hot days of around 35ºC and nights as low as 10ºC even in summer - favours slow ripening and a singular aromatic concentration. The extreme continental climate also significantly reduces the risk of disease, allowing for cleaner and more respectful agriculture, often without the need for intensive chemical treatments.
Instinct as a winemaking philosophy
The name " Shaya " comes from an indigenous deer that lives in the nearby pine forests. And this is no coincidence: the winery's philosophy is very wild and instinctive. Winemaker Belén Sanz, who has worked for years with the oldest vineyards in the area, has opted for spontaneous fermentation, ageing on the lees and minimal intervention in the cellar. In her best cuvées, such as Shaya Habis, part of the wine is fermented in French oak barrels and aged for months on its own lees, developing an unusual structure for a white wine from Rueda: texture, volume, nerve. It is not a wine of thirst: it is a wine of pause.
Two interpretations of the same essence
The difference between Shaya and Shaya Habis is a lesson in terroir and style. While the former shows a more direct, clean Verdejo, with white fruit and linear freshness, the latter invites you to dig deeper: notes of bitter almond, dried flowers, wax, smoke and a minerality reminiscent of wet chalk. A white for cellaring, if you are patient.
Singularity in a sea of industrial production
The most curious thing about the project is that, in an environment dominated by cooperatives and industrial production, Shaya has managed to position itself as a boutique reference in Spain and abroad. It exports a large part of its production to demanding markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, where its less "commercial" and more authentic style is especially valued.
Verdejos from the very edge of the appellation
Moreover, many of its vineyards are located outside the geographical "heart" of Rueda, in less explored areas of Segovia, where the landscape is drier, the soil sandier and the altitude more extreme. It is precisely in these margins where Shaya has found its space. A Verdejo far removed from fashions, closer to character than to complacency, which shows that not all Rueda whites have to be light, tropical or for immediate consumption.