Wine & Spirits - June 2021 - 78

Focus Ribera del Duero
hotel just west of Vega-Sicilia. The blend for
this reserva includes four percent cabernet
sauvignon and one percent merlot, compressed along with the tempranillo into a
rose-scented, intensely mineral, layered and
powerfully rich wine. Rather than fruity, it's
meaty, packed with umami and spiced with
rhubarb notes. Accommodating if you open
it now, especially with the chuletillas de cordero lechal, lechazo, mollejas y azafrán (the
chops and sweetbreads of baby lamb) you
might order at Taller Arzuaga, the family's
restaurant. § Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
525598

94 | Atalayas de Golbán

94 | Hnos. Pérez Pascuas $130

2014 Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva r ^
Grown at the Pérez family's vineyard in
Pedrosa de Duero, where the vines are more
than 60 years old and the altitude is above
2,700 feet, this wine ages for two years in
barrels before beginning its life in bottle. Its
delicate power defines a traditional style of
high-altitude wine from Burgos, not wanting
for richness, but not taken down by excessive
concentration. The flavors are full and austere, pretty with the floral sunny character
of a late-summer tomato, gamey in their red
fruit just coming into ripeness. Pour it with
WINE & SPIRITS

They focused on a vineyard farmed by Olga
Calvo in Gumiel de Mercado, the 60-yearold vines worked without chemicals and the
wine made without added yeasts. Their 2018
reads clearly as natural-musky, earthy and
gamey, a wine with a sexy musk scent tied
into fresh red fruit. There's a sanguine note
and a mulberry flavor, a savory red to make
you smile with tapas, especially morcilla with
white beans. § Copa Fina, San Diego, CA

$19

2017 Ribera del Duero Torre de Golbán
Crianza Tempranillo (Best Buy) ^ The team
at Dominio de Atauta developed this project
based at a separate facility in town, working
with fruit from local growers in Soria. Half
of their crianza comes from these high-elevation sites, planted in sandy soils at altitudes up to 3,200 feet where the vines are 70
to 80 years old. The other half is from vineyards in Burgos, mostly La Horra and Roa,
where 30-year-old vines grow in clay. Winemaker Jaime Suárez says the only difference
between this wine and La Celestina Crianza
(also recommended here) is that the better
grape selection goes to La Celestina. And
yet, this wine blew me away. A week later, in
the company of the top wines of our Ribera
del Duero tastings, it was still holding its
own-not complex, like what turned out to
be several Vega-Sicilia wines, but fresh and
delicious. I can't say I wasn't bemused (confused...embarrassed...) to find out this is a
$19 wine. Its time in French oak barrels (20
percent new) points up the luxurious texture,
a silken richness to frame the layers of red
and black-skinned fruit-the acidity of fresh
currants and the warm sunshine of blackberries. It's a savory tempranillo, all of a piece,
and that integration sustains it...if you don't
immediately finish the bottle with a dinner
of roast lamb. Astonishing. § Aviva Vino, NY
525562

roast squab stuffed with wild mushrooms
and wild rice. § Think Global, Santa Barbara,
CA

JUNE 2021

525601

94 | Viyuela

$25

2017 Ribera del Duero Crianza (Best Buy) ^
Long-time residents of Boada de Roa (in Burgos), the Viyuela family built their winery in
2002 to create a business out of their experience as grape growers and winemakers. All
of the grapes for this wine come from the
family's vineyards surrounding the town,
the vines ranging from 40 to 50 years old
and providing a wine with beautiful fruit
depth-its luscious flavors sustained without
weight. Berkshire chef Amy Loveless found
the wine's rose petal scent had " the floral
quality of really good unsweetened chocolate. " The earthy detail of the fruit lends the
wine sophistication, fresh enough to sustain
a long battle with the oak tannins, which
amplify the wine's substantial feel even as it
remains jewel-like at its core. § Terroir Connections, Miami, FL
525639

93 | Avelino Vegas

$40

2015 Ribera del Duero 100 Aniversario
Tempranillo ^ This wine grows at a parcel of
80-year-old vines in Aguilera (Burgos), the
wine aged in a combination of French oak
barrels and ovoid concrete tanks. It's tangy,
rich and herbal when first opened, already
giving a sense of integration while needing
time to open. A day later, the tannins provide a beautiful layering with the lean fruit,
sunny and shady, lasting with the smokiness
of grilled eggplant-with which it would be
delicious. § Classic Wines, Stamford, CT
525595

93 | Malcaracter

$30

2018 Ribera del Duero Limited Tempranillo (Best Buy) ^ Cecilia Puebla and Nacho
Gutiérrez started this project in 2015 while
working as shippers for small wineries in Castilla y León. They couldn't find a Ribera del
Duero producer that fit their ideal as a client, so they decided to make their own wine.

525655

93 | Pago de Carraovejas

$250

2015 Ribera del Duero Cuesta de las Liebres ^ This estate in Peñafiel (Valladolid)
includes close to 500 acres of vines, with
Cuesta de las Liebres the top selection and
made only in certain vintages. It comes from
a hillside parcel where the soils are loam over
limestone, the wine made without added
yeasts and aged for two years in new French
oak barrels. In 2015, the wine is almost fiery
in its ripeness, a bold and spicy tempranillo
that builds amplitude with air. The red currant flavors expand into a full texture, as
rounded as a Botero nude. The wine's power
and spice lingers, drawing you back for more. §
USA Wine West, Sausalito, CA
525528

93 | Resalte de Peñafiel

$35

2018 Ribera del Duero Origen de Resalte
Tempranillo (Best Buy) ^ A selection from
vineyards in six villages, the variations in soil
and altitude of those sites create a complex
blend. Initially heady and chocolate-rich,
this settles into a layered, integrated refinement-with enough space between the layers to feel open rather than thick. As it takes
on air, it begins to feel like a mille feuille of
wild-mushroom umami, fresh black fruit and
bitter chocolate tannins. Cellar it to serve
with braised lamb. § Toros & Vinos, Miami, FL
525654

93 | Pinea

$150

2017 Ribera del Duero ^ This grows in the
highlands north of Roa, the estate consisting of six parcels with an average elevation

http://www.bodegasviyuela.com/our-wines/ https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pagos+de+carraovejas+cuesta+liebres+grand+anades+ribera+duero+castilla+y+leon+spain

Wine & Spirits - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2021