Wine & Spirits - June 2019 - 71

YEAR'S BEST RIBERA DEL DUERO
91 | Dominio del Aguila

270469
$34

2016 Ribera del Duero Pícaro Viñas Viejas ^ Jorge Monzón comes from a family with
old vines in the town of La Aguilera. After
working in Burgundy and Ribera del Duero,
he founded this winery in 2010, renovating
a 17th-century cellar, where he foot-treads
whole bunches of his organically farmed
grapes, mostly tempranillo interplanted with
blanca del país, garnacha and bobal. Pícaro
is his village wine, an intriguing contrast of
rustic and polished, ancient and modern.
There's a floral scent of fresh grapes, and
a sweet fruit character of blueberries even
though the wine is not sweet. Lasting on
deep, saturated, waxy fruit-skin tannins,
this is tarry and spicy, needing bottle age to
mellow and integrate. § European Cellars/Eric
Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC
270765

91 | Ismael Arroyo

$49

2014 Ribera del Duero Reserva ValSotillo ^
Based in Sotillo de la Ribera, Ismael Arroyo
farms 62 acres of vines with an average age
of 50 years (some are 90). He also buys fruit
from local growers to produce a range of
wines, including this Reserva, with its dark,
meaty flavors of morcilla and mushrooms.

That blackness is shot through with hightoned scents of crushed mustard seeds and
cardamom, as well as lifted green-herb notes.
It's tight and savory, a match for morcilla de
Burgos. § Murphy Distributors, Branford, CT
270440

91 | Félix Callejo

$23

2016 Ribera del Duero Flores de Callejo ^
An estate-grown tempranillo from the
heights of Sotillo de la Ribera, this is welcoming in its fresh blueberry ripeness. The
tannins bring a hint of tar and the flavor of
black-skinned blueberries muddled with a
pestle, those tannins gentle against the tangy,
bright fruit, airy enough that the finish seems
to reverberate. A pleasure with grilled baby
lamb chops. § ViVino Selections, Pittsburgh, PA
271130

91 | Garcia Figuero

$162

2015 Ribera del Duero Noble ^ This wine
cloaks its fat black-cherry flavors with the
chocolate richness of French oak tannins
(it rested 21 months in barrels). The tannins bounce back with some blueberry-skin
chewiness and tension, the finish refreshed
by some licorice and anise notes. Tight, juicy
and black-fruited, this is a clean Ribera for
any roast meats. § Quintessential, Napa, CA

91 | Emilio Moro

91 | Pinea

www.topdrop.ca

$40

2015 Ribera del Duero 17 by Pinea ^ Isaac
Fernandez makes this wine from estate vineyards north of Roa, at an elevation of 2,950
feet. The altitude points up the wine's freshness, as does the spark of limestone-like acidity, which feels tied to the sites' sandy chalk
soils. Tight and juicy in its violet-scented
fruit, with rustic, soil-driven tannins, it's a
modern wine that holds onto country Spanish charm, to drink with anything meaty off
the grill. § Chelsea Ventures, Chicago, IL

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CALGARY | VANCOUVER
May 21-24, 2019

$170

2014 Ribera del Duero Malleolus Sanchomartín Tempranillo ^ Sanchomartín is
a 2.5-acre block at the edge of Pesquera de
Duero where the elevation reaches 2,870
feet, the site planted by the Moro family in
1964 using selections from their old vines
at the time. For now, the wine shows its 18
months in French oak, but there's a frisky
wine underneath that will emerge with bottle age. It's youthfully intense, with the concentrated mineral drive and lasting spice of
old-vine fruit. This tastes like an old-school
Ribera, with impressive power and zest. § Moro
Brothers, Miami, FL
270986
https://www.droptop.ca
Wine & Spirits - June 2019

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