Grape varieties : Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol : 14.5%
Guard : +10 years
The history of wine in Spain is so old that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was well established and Spanish wines were widely marketed throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa.
You could say that Spain is a wine miracle. After years spent away from the world of fine wines, she is today a major player. Investment and ambition in the vineyards and cellars results in increasingly rich and complex (often very alcoholic) and spicy reds which are increasingly appreciated by international consumers.
Proud to have more land devoted to vines than any other country, Spain is only beginning to capitalize on this resource consistently. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly raw landscapes. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity among Spain's many wine regions, from the soggy green vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the toasty vineyards of southeastern the Mediterranean. Spain's saving grace, in terms of viticulture, is the average altitude of its vineyards, above 600 meters. A large part of Spanish vineyards therefore manage to produce grapes of good color and acidity simply because night temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing period.
But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig and, now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all manner of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine . Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun making spectacular wines and experimenting with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Wine remains an important commodity and is an integral part of Spanish culture.
Castilla y Leon
Castilla y Leon is the largest of Spain's 17 administrative regions, covering around a fifth of the country's total area. It stretches approximately 350 kilometers from central Spain to the northern coast and connects the Rioja wine region to the Portuguese border. In terms of climate, Castilla y Leon has a remarkably strong continental character with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Hot, dry summers are followed by harsh, cold winters where temperatures regularly drop well below freezing. Changes in temperature over the course of a day are just as pronounced and play a vital role in the style of local wines. Cool nights refresh the vineyards after long hot days.
The sub-region: Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero is an important wine-growing region in Castile and Leon in northern Spain. Its reputation is largely due to the high quality of its red wines made mainly from Tempranillo grape varieties. Ribera del Duero is located on the northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula at 800 meters above sea level. Ribera del Duero means "bank of the Duero", a river that divides the region in two. It also provides local vineyards with a much-needed water supply. The region's inland location, coupled with the protective effects of the Sierra de la Demanda and Sierra de Guadarrama mountain ranges, creates an extreme climate. Hot, dry summers are followed by harsh winters.