Spain’s Ribera del Duero wine region should be on your radar if it isn’t already. While it’s less well known than some of the country’s other wine regions like Priorat or Rioja, it’s one of the top wine regions in Spain, gaining well-deserved recognition and rising in popularity. The region has been producing wine for about 2,000 years; it became a DOC (denominacion de origen) in 1982.
There are about 300 wineries in Ribera. Red wine is king in the region, particularly Tempranillo (locally called Tinta del Pais or Tinto Fino). Some rosé and a smattering of whites are also produced. The wines are of very high quality in large part because of the extreme weather: hot summers and cold winters. The grapes are mainly hand-harvested.
The classification system is a little different in this region, and pertains only to red and rosé wines.
· Cosecha: red wine not following defined aging requirements but meets or exceeds classification requirements (such as having a certain amount of Tempranillo in a blend)
· Crianza: at least 24 months aged for red and 18 months for rosé
· Reserva: at least 36 months aged for red and 24 months for rosé
· Gran Reserva: at least five years aged for red and 48 months for rosé
Ribera is about two hours north of Madrid, so it’s an easy day trip. There are a handful of tour operators that offer tours there. We chose a “super taster” small group tour with Wine Tours from Madrid via winetourismspain because we’d get to visit four different wineries and would be guided by owner Raul Orantes, WSET III certified. This was a terrific, very fun tour and I highly recommend it.
Each tasting was private for our little group of five, and each winery paired its tasting with a different delicious food, in the appropriate order of a meal, which was a very nice touch (does anyone else remember “progressive dinners?”).
Bodega Dominio De Cair
The first winery we visited was Bodega Dominio de Cair in Aranda a la Aguilera. The family has owned wineries in Spain for four generations; this is the youngest of the three it owns (they also own Bodegas Amaren in Rioja, which we were fortunate to visit in 2023).
We first toured the production facilities and tasted two wines straight from the barrel. They were actually the same wine (the "village" wine) and in barrels made by the same cooper; the only difference is that one was in an American barrel and the other in a French barrel. They definitely tasted different from each other.
We then moved into the tasting room, which looked a bit like a bar, with high tops. Our tasting was accompanied by tapas (as if we were in a bar) of cheese and chorizo on bread.
We sampled:
Seleccion “La Aguilera,” 100% Tempranillo, the “village” wine 😊+
Tierras de Cair, a reserve wine, 100% Tempranillo and the winery’s most classic wine 😊++
Cruz del Pendon, 100% Tempranillo, the “queen” of the winery 😊😊
Alvides Bodega Y Venedos
We then moved on to Alvides Bodega Y Venedos, a very small boutique third-generation winery in the village of Villalba de Duero. Its aging cellar dates to the 17th Century. After a tour of the production facility, we moved outside for our wine tasting, which was accompanied by the winery’s homemade olive oil and bread made by the local baker, who happens to be the winery owner’s daughter’s father-in-law.
We tasted:
Rosado, a rosé, most representative of Ribera in the 1980s and only sold locally 😊
Alvides Crianza, 100% Tempranillo 😊😊
Alvides Tercera Generacion, 100% Tempranillo from 75-year-old vines 😊😊+
Bodegas Nabal
The third winery we visited was Bodegas Nabal, a family-owned winery in Valle de Nabal. The winery was established in 2014 but the family has been producing wine for more than 20 years.
This tasting was paired with our lunch main course that included Spanish omelet, sheep’s cheese, croquettes, sausage, and eggplant.
We tasted:
A rosé, 85% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha and Albillio Mayor 😊😊
Nabal Crianza, 100% Tempranillo, from 70 year old vines 😊😊
Nabal Reserva de la Familia, 100% Tempranillo, from 90 year old vines 😊😊
Bodegas Valdubon
The fourth winery we went to was Bodegas Valdubon, on a hill near the village of Milagros. Established in 1997, it’s related to five other wineries in Spain and Argentina.
This is where we enjoyed dessert, in a tasting room that looked like we were in someone’s living room. We feasted on chocolate covered strawberries and bananas and chocolate and wine gummies.
This was accompanied by:
Valdubon Diez, 100% Tempranillo, but a blend of different vintages (unlike most blends, which are of different varietals) 😊😊
Valdubon Crianza, 100% Tempranillo 😊++
Valdubon Reserva 😊😊
I hope this information on how to discover Spain’s Ribera del Duero wine region inspires you to visit there. Go before it gets too touristy! It’s well worth the trip. ¡Salud! (cheers in Spanish).
What other wine regions in Spain or elsewhere should we look into? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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