Vineyards in Spain’s Rioja region.
No grape is more closely associated with Northern Spain than Tempranillo, and no viticultural region is more closely associated with Tempranillo than Northern Spain. Their pasts and their futures are inextricably linked.
Read MoreThe #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 .
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.
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Steadily, since its first vintage in 1991, Alion has been increasingly noticed by wine drinkers around the world, recognized for its unsurpassed pedigree and for its consistent quality. This quality has not been lost in the wine reviews of top publications: The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast have all awarded scores to these wines that are well into the 90s.
2004 Pesquera Reserva
Medium dark red colour. Beautiful nose of raspberries and black cherries supported by hints of baking spices. The medium+ body is textured and very smooth. The tannin is now fully integrated and the moderate acidity on the back end keeps the wine nicely delineated. This wine is very complex with primary flavours of plum, raspberry and blackberry. With a bit of air we also pick up leather and cedar notes. The fruit is ripe and full, possessing a slightly confectured note and is drinking perfectly right now. One of the best examples of a Ribera del Duero from a top vintage.
Excellent+
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The view at Aalto Winery
It was a beautiful sunny day in Spain’s Ribera del Duero when we pulled up to what has become one of Spain’s most highly regarded wineries: Aalto. The winery is a very modern looking building, its concrete and glass gleaming under the bright sun, making it look quite futuristic. But inside it is all business: this winery was built with the intention of producing wines that would be ranked among the best in the world. There is no tasting room (the winery does not receive guests; we were a special exception as a part of the Fine Vintages Spanish Wine Tour) and the winery was custom designed with meticulous attention to detail.
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