Ribera del Duero: Spain’s Rising Star

Posted on Mar 24, 2021


The #WorldWineTravel group is continuing its virtual exploration of Spain. This month the focus is on Castilla y León including Ribera del Duero, Rueda, and Toro. AdVINEtures is co-hosting this month’s conversation with Lynn from Savor the Harvest on Twitter this Saturday March 27th. We’d love to have you join the conversation; the invitation with all the details can be found here.

Our article is a primer on Ribera del Duero, a region we were lucky enough to visit a few years ago. To read the other articles related to this month’s topic by others in the group, please refer to the links at the end .

Spanish wine

Tempranillo grapes at Abadia Retuerte.

Ribera del Duero is, along with nearby Rioja and Priorat, one of the most important wine producing regions in Spain. In 2012 the highly respected Wine Enthusiast Magazine awarded Ribera del Duero its ‘Wine Region of the Year’ citing as reasons Ribera’s “combination of top-quality wines, beautiful vistas and a proactive approach to tourism and customer satisfaction”. While grapes have been grown and wines have been produced here for hundreds of years, it is only relatively recently that this wine region has gained the respect of the wine establishment and recognition of that fact that its top wines have earned a standing alongside the world’s great wines.

Ribera del Duero

Map of Ribera del Duero [source: Wine Tourism Spain]

Ribera del Duero (often shortened to just “Ribera”) sits along the Duero River in northern Spain’s Castille Y Leon region, an easy two-hour drive north of Madrid. The region spans some 70 miles running east west and is about 22 miles wide. It is now home to some 300 bodegas (the Spanish term for winery). The countryside is relatively flat with rolling hills flanking the river. Sitting at elevations of 800–900 metres, it enjoys hot dry summers and cold winters averaging 2400 hours of sunshine per year.

History

Rioja Spain

Pesquera Vineyards.

Ribera del Duero has either a very long or a very short history, depending on how you look at it. Scientists believe the first wines were made in the region over 2000 years ago. But it was only in 1982 that Ribera was granted its Denominación de Origen status, or D.O. The D.O. is the Spanish equivalent of a viticultural area. When the D.O was created, there were only 9 wineries that registered. In 1982, 5,000 Hectares were under vine whereas today there are more than 20,000Ha planted in Ribera.

Much of the growth of the Ribera can be attributed to the success achieved by three pioneering wineries: Vega Sicilia, Pesquera, and Pingus. They showed the world the quality that Ribera is capable of and established the region on the world stage. With that path to quality cleared, Ribera became a place to be it growth began.

Ribera del duero wine

2007 Vega Sicilia Unico

Vega Sicilia had been making wine since before the turn of the century and was increasingly be noticed for the extremely high quality of the wines it produced. Vega Sicilia truly is Spain’s First Growth. The estate has 1,000 acres of which roughly 250 are under vine and is located near the city of Valladollid in the Ribera del Duero D.O. It was founded in 1863 by Don Eloy Lacanda y Chaves who brought over cuttings from Bordeaux of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. He planted Tinto Fino, the local clone of Tempranillo alongside them.

The winery’s reputation was sealed when the 1917 and 1918 vintages won awards at the 1929 World’s Fair. Rigorous selection and meticulous handling have cemented the wine’s quality and make it one of the most collected and one of the most age-worthy wines in the world. The estate was acquired in 1982 by the Alvarez family who have paid great respect to the traditions of the past while blending in some of the more recent winemaking techniques. Unico, their flagship wine, has received outstanding scores from the major wine critics and now commands commensurately high prices. Vega Sicilia clearly established the potential for the region.

Pesquera Winery

Alejandro Fernandez the “King of Tempranillo”

One early pioneer to recognize this was Alejandro Fernandez whose Ribera del Duero winery, Pesquera, has established a major reputation for quality across a much broader production. Fernandez now has four wineries in Ribera as well as owning one of the top hotels there. He is a tireless advocate for the region and has been dubbed by Robert Parker as the “King of Tempranillo”.

In the late 1990s Dutch-born and Bordeaux-trained Peter Sissek created his winery “Pingus” (his own nickname) in Ribera and almost instantly became recognized for extremely high quality. With these three pioneers so clearly blazing a trail of quality the path of fame for Ribera del Duero was clearly set.

The Terroir of Ribera del Duero

Ribera del Duero Spain

The view at Aalto Winery.

Ribera del Duero is characterized by a continental climate that provides plenty of extremes: hot summers and cold winters, huge differences in diurnal temperatures (up to 20 degrees Celsius during the growing season) and minimal rainfall during the summer. The previously mentioned higher elevation exacerbates these effects. Fortunately, the Duero River that runs through its middle provides some moderation to these extremes. These climatic extremes cause vines to struggle and produce smaller and fewer berries of great concentration.

Northern Spain

Vineyards in Ribera del Duero.

The soil is quite diversified throughout the region: a limestone base sees clay and marl in the east and more gypsum and marl in the west. Large round stones, similar to the galets roulés of Chateauneuf-du-Pape are found covering many vineyards. The soils are loose and easily worked, providing good drainage and are ideal for vine growing.

Tempranillo is the dominant grape in the region, accounting for over 90% of the planting. The two clones found in Ribera are Tinto del Pais and Tinto Fino. Also permitted to be grown in the D.O. are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Garnacha, Malbec and a white grape, Albillo. 75% of the final blend must be Tempranillo.

Haro larioja spain

The Barrel room at Roda.

Ribera wines are generally characterized by masculine personalities, especially when compared to Spain’s other Tempranillo-based region, Rioja. Ribera wines exhibit dark colour and dark fruit characteristics. Black cherry, raspberry and sometimes blackberry are often used to describe the fruit characteristics in the wine. These wines tend to be big, seldom less than medium to full body. They are also wines possessing considerable structure, both from tannin and acid. Wines from Ribera can be, and often need to be aged for several years. We have found the plateau for maturity of the better wines occurs after 8 – 12 years. With proper cellaring the best from this region will last for decades.

suckling pig and wine

The Ribera wine lineup at Jose Maria restaurant.

Ribera wines have a wonderful complexity. To us, they are classically old world. Minerally with plenty of barrel notes and floral tones, their fruit seldom shouts over the other components. They make wonderful companions to winter foods: stews, grilled meats, and roasts stand up well to Ribera’s flavour intensity and masculine structure. Ribera’s hot summers assure the vines will fully ripen, yet sweet or jammy flavours that are often present in other hot regions (such as Napa or Barossa) are seldom found in Ribera, which tends to have a more savoury profile.

Ribera del Duero

Grapes coming in for Harvest at Abadia Retuerte.

There is a strong focus on quality throughout the region. Almost all of its wineries are small, artisanal and family owned and are committed to excellence. The rules of the D.O. serve to protect the quality of the wines by limiting yields to 3.1 tons per acre, but in practice most of the wineries harvest at about half those yields.

Recommended Wines from Ribera del Duero: Vega Sicilia, Pingus, Pesquera, Aalto, Roda, Abadia Retuerta, Neo, Alion, Hacienda Monasterio, Alonso del Yerro.

 

 

Vintages

Cork puller and corkRibera del Duero has moderately consistent vintage characteristics. Getting the grapes ripe is seldom an issue but drought can be a problem. Best recent vintages have been: 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2004 and 2001. In our various discussion with winemakers we met there, 2015 and 2016 should be excellent vintages as well, rivaling the greats such as 2010, 2004 and 2001.

 

Related articles from #WorldWineTravel:

  • Co-host Lynn of Savor the Harvest introduces us to Unconventional in Castilla y Leon – Ismael Gozalo and MicroBio Wines.
  • Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla pairs Patatas a lo Pobre + Losada Bierzo 2017.
  • Steve of Children of the Grape explores Hemingway and the Plains of Spain.
  • Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm is explaining why Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial is indeed a Special Selection.
  • Terri at Our Good Life will be Exploring Castilla y Leon Through Wine and Food.
  • David at Cooking Chat is tempting us with his Steak Picado Recipe with Ribera del Duero Wine.
  • Jeff of FoodWineClick! reveals A Different Take on Castilla y Leon.
  • Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog discusses Mesmerizing Mencia – The Star Grape of Bierzo; 2018 Raúl Pérez Ultreia St-Jacques.
  • Lisa The Wine Chef reveals Castilla y Leon, Home of Spain’s Best Kept Secret: Wine, Dine and Stay in an Luxe 12th Century Abbey Overlooking World-Class Vineyards.
  • Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares Rueda and Verdejo just keep rolling with the #1 white wine in Spain!
  • Nicole at Somms Table tells us about A Phenomenal Feat at Emilio Moro.
  • Linda at My Full Wine Glass discusses Rueda Verdejo – A crisp white alternative to Sauvignon Blanc.
  • Susannah at Avvinare is Exploring Rueda’s Signature Grape, Verdejo.
  • Lauren at the Swirling Dervish shares Dominio del Pidio Albillo: Tasting an Unusual Spanish White Wine in Miami.
  • Gwendolyn at The Wine Predator shares Cristina Forner Leads Marques de Cacerés: Her Verdejo from Rueda with Barbacoa Tacos.

25 Comments

  1. Lisa@thewinechef.com'

    Thanks for hosting Allison. Lots of great information here on R del D that will come in handy for my upcoming trip (in my dreams for the time being anyways!!)

    Post a Reply
  2. martindredmond@gmail.com'

    Thanks for the great overview. I actually purchased a Ribero del Duero before I realized it was part of Castilla Y Leon. I decided to go with Bierzo/Mencia. Guess I’ll just have to open that Ribero and enjoy!

    Post a Reply
    • Not a bad back up plan we think! Loved that you chose Bierzo/Mencia and we’ll have to revisit those wines too.

      Post a Reply
  3. lbwhipple@gmail.com'

    Great overview on these classically old-world wines. Thanks for co-hosting and introducing the topic.

    Post a Reply
    • Our pleasure Linda and thank you for taking the time to read. Salud!

      Post a Reply
  4. susannahgold@yahoo.com'

    Great post with loads of information. Thanks for the tips on the vintages, that’s always precious and missing information. Thanks for hosting. Susannah

    Post a Reply
    • Thank you for reading Susannah and glad you found it helpful. We hope you find some of those vintages…cheers!

      Post a Reply
    • We feel especially lucky given the current COVID situation and someday hope to return. Cheers David!

      Post a Reply
  5. steve@childrenofthegrape.com'

    I would be in the very long history camp, as wine is history to me and you can’t change their long wine making history! Really nice.

    Post a Reply
    • Thank you Steve, we couldn’t agree more!

      Post a Reply
  6. swirlingdervish@outlook.com'

    I feel like I’ve just come back from a superbly guided trip to Ribera del Duero – even though I’ve never been there! Thanks for hosting this month – what a great topic.

    Post a Reply
    • What a wonderful compliment Lauren! We feel so lucky to have been there in person and at harvest no less. We definitely hope to return and hope your travels take you there someday too.

      Post a Reply
    • Thanks Jeff! Between your knowledge of wine and your great photographic eye, you definitely need to visit in person.

      Post a Reply
  7. lwg.mine@gmail.com'

    Super primer A and C! Thanks for sharing your plateau for maturity, nice to get an opinion from others. We have a 2019 Ribera I decided against opening for this because it’s just too young.

    Have you been to other viticultural areas of Castilla y Leon as well?

    Post a Reply
  8. nicoleruizhudson@gmail.com'

    Really great overview of the region! I love Ribera del Duero and was really happy to have an excuse to revisit.

    Post a Reply
    • Thank you for reading Nicole! Our trip there a few years ago was such an eye opener and the memories make us enjoy their wines that much more. Salud!

      Post a Reply
  9. constantmotioncamilla@gmail.com'

    Thank you for hosting and for the inspiration to dive into a new-to-me wine region. Wow. So much to learn. So many wines to try now.

    Post a Reply
    • Our pleasure! Isn’t that always the case? We just love the spectrum of wines and the variety worldwide…so many wine regions, so little time!

      Post a Reply
  10. Robin@42aspens.com'

    What an amazing region. Did you pair any local specialty foods with the wines while you were there? These seem like perfect winter wines, especially with the very cold winters that they get.

    Post a Reply
    • We had some very memorable meals. We were there during harvest a few years ago so the days were warm and the nights were cool. We experienced a traditional Cochinillo (roast pig) feast as well as the best lamb we’ve ever tasted. The foodie in you will be more than satisfied!

      Post a Reply
  11. Dennis.Kercher@gmail.com'

    Great writing. Makes me want to slow roast some short ribs and pop open a Ribera!

    Post a Reply
    • Thank you for reading! And we think that sounds like an excellent plan ;).

      Post a Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Unconventional in Castilla y Leon - Ismael Gozalo and MicroBio Wines #WorldWineTravel - Savor the Harvest - […] Allison of AdVINEtures declares Ribera del Duero: Spain’s Rising Star. […]
  2. Mesmerizing Mencia – The Star Grape of Bierzo; 2018 Raúl Pérez Ultreia St-Jacques #WorldWineTravel – ENOFYLZ Wine Blog - […] Allison of AdVINEtures declares Ribera del Duero: Spain’s Rising Star. […]
  3. Rueda and Verdejo just keep rolling with the #1 white wine in Spain! #WorldWineTravel | Crushed Grape Chronicles - […] Co-host Allison of Advinetures shares Ribera del Duero: Spain’s Rising Star […]

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