Ribera del Duero Annual Tasting Report: Flipping the Script on Convention

Nestled in the heart of Spain about two hours north of Madrid, Ribera del Duero boasts a winemaking history dating back more than thousand years, even though it was only officially sanctioned as “Denominacion de Origen” in 1982. Back then, there were only nine modern wine producers. Today, that numbers stands at 300, and together they source grapes from a total of 26,000 plus hectares of vines stretching across 130 kilometers in the state of Castilla y Leon.

Along with the growth has come an awakening among producers to the huge terroir diversity that is possible here, allowing them to move away from the oaky, concentrated and predictable wines the region is known for in favor of making unique, site-specific offerings.

But after tasting more than 400 Ribera del Duero wines and talking to a few producers during my recent visit to the region, which followed my trip to Rioja, I came away with the impression that Ribera del Duero is, in general, more resistant to change than its northern neighbor, which seems more dynamic and is known for its lighter, higher-yielding wines.

The context here is that Ribera del Duero’s drier, continental climate and limestone-laden soils combined with significant temperature swings result in concentrated and powerful wines with bountiful tannins – and it’s easy for the larger producers to stick to this script than change their narrative.

While the younger, up-and-coming winemakers of Rioja are revitalizing that region, Ribera del Duero is also evolving, but at a slower, more progressive pace. It is no longer just a red wine region, and it’s gaining recognition for its excellent rosés and whites. From the latter category, the first white grape to be approved for DO wines in Ribera del Duero, albillo mayor, has been coming on strong, with promising examples from the likes of Tresmano, Pinea, and Dominio del Pidio, whose 2022 bottlings of albillo mayor are among the better examples of the variety we tasted this year.

For red wines, Ribera del Duero’s top producers are aiming for more vibrancy, purity and drinkability through greater use of indigenous yeast, controlling extraction and dialing back on new wood. Some wineries, like Pinea, have started to travel the path of making site-specific wines as well, such as with the debut vintage of their Korde red wine, which also uses some whole clusters from grapes sourced from a single, old-vine plot where the tempranillo was originally co-planted with some other grapes, including the white.

But while most Ribera del Duero producers still want to make serious, age-worthy wines, there's a consensus on the need for polish and refinement, with less reliance on aging potential to excuse poor tannins. This shift reflects both a better understanding of their vineyards as well as changing market demand.

READ MORE RIOJA 2024 TASTING REPORT: SEIZING A NEW TRADITION

“Today, it is true that most people don’t have cellars to age their wines, nor do they have the time and patience,” said Telmo Rodriguez, who, apart from his respected work in Rioja and Galicia, also makes a fine, sophisticated wine from Ribera del Duero.

Having studied winemaking in Bordeaux, Rodriguez appears to have the mindset of making classic wines that have the ageability of a great Bordeaux and can be cherished on special occasions.

His Viñedos de Matallana Ribera del Duero Matallana 2021 exemplifies this vision in a very refined, sophisticated way, showcasing finesse and chalky, powdery tension from a cooler, slightly rainier vintage. The wine is from low-yielding bush-vine vineyards in different villages, but with well-judged extraction, with Rodriguez noting that because the grapes in Ribera del Duero are more powerful than in Rioja, it is important that extraction is done with greater care.

However, consumers’ waning interest in aging their wines poses a big challenge for Ribera del Duero, which has a reputation for producing big, oaky and concentrated wines with broad tannin shoulders that can be daunting to approach in their early stage, even if they have the potential to morph into greatness after years in the cellar.

REDEFINING 'DRINKABILITY'

It is only recently that “drinkability” has come to be associated with certain young Ribera del Duero wines. Pinea’s Korde 2022, for example, is a bold, defiant departure for the region. If the classic Ribera del Duero style resembles a cappuccino or latte, this light, transparent approach is more akin to drip coffee or a pour-over.

Winemaker David Ayala, who joined Pinea in 2021, said he has free reign in giving his offerings different looks, as the project is relatively new and there is no set wine lineage that must be followed.

“The idea is to deliver a fresh wine with good fluidity from an old vineyard harvested early, but this comes as a challenge because we are in a land where what abounds is concentration and color,” he said.

The Korde 2022 is sourced from a tiny plot first planted in 1945 that sits at an altitude of 920 meters. It’s also part of Korde’s effort to take their red wines to a new (or at least different) level by adding white grapes with whole clusters from a single, old-vine plot. In this case, tempranillo was co-planted with grapes including the white albillo mayor.

Early harvesting, light extraction and the use of an old, 500-liter barrel with over 30 percent whole bunches enhance its clarity, freshness and vibrancy.

Altitude, a cooler climate and old vines also go a long way in delivering serious yet drinkable wines. In the Ribera del Duero village of Fuentenebro, Bodega Milsetentayseis, which is owned by the Alma Carraovejas group, makes wines from high-altitude, century-old, goblet-trained vines that sit between 920 and 1,100 meters’ altitude. From the ferric terroirs that mix loamy red clay with mica, quartz and feldspar come a wine, the Milsetentayseis Ribera del Duero Tinto 2021, that is naturally concentrated but fresh and taut, with a mineral quality that creates al-dente tension and more elasticity on the palate.

And in the easternmost part of Ribera del Duero, the old vines of Soria, set at elevation and enjoying a cool climate, are helping redefine what a drinkable wine can be.

“If we say the soil gives form or the body to the wine, then the climate will dress it up in an outfit, and here in Soria it is the climate that makes [a wine] unique,” said Frenchman Bertrand Sourdais, one of the pioneering winemakers in the village of Atauta, to which he was introduced by the renowned Spanish enologist/winemaker Alvaro Palacios.

Sourdais said that when he started making wines in Soria in 2000 as one of the founders and winemaker for Dominio de Atauta, “everyone thought I was out of my mind,” to think he could be successful in making wines in such a cold region, where temperatures can swing from 25-30 degrees Celsius during the day to 4-6 Celsius at night. But today, he said, “everyone is coming to Soria for the new, fresh possibilities,” adding that he was untroubled by newcomers to Soria, which he views as an untapped, virgin land that easily accommodates the 19 wineries that cultivate just five percent of the vineyards found in all of Ribera del Duero.

Dominio de Atauta is now owned by the Terra Selecta group, another prominent producer making site-specific wines from extremely old vines.

Sourdais runs Dominion de Es and Bodegas Antidoto in Soria with his business partner, David Hernando.His family also owns Domaine de Pallus in France’s Loire Valley.

Their premium, rare and striking wines from Dominio de Es, La Diva 2022 and La Mata 2022, are among the top-rated wines in this report, with La Diva noted for its elegance and almost etherealness and La Mata for its tense, minerally power.

“Phylloxera never arrived here, and we don’t exactly know why, which makes these old, pre-phylloxera vines the gems,” Sourdais explained, noting that many vineyards in Soria were planted well over 150 years ago and that wine was once made in the area purely for personal enjoyment, not commercial sale.

“Back then, there was no money involved,” he said, explaining that it was an era when everyone was trying to make the best wines possible for families, friends and guests. “It was very much like growing your own fruit and vegetables in your backyard, and you would be proud to show them.”

Centuries ago, locals produced wines resembling claret, blending red and white grapes with light extraction in large wooden vessels. “People only came back to make more when they finished their wines,” Sourdais said. That style is in stark contrast with the Ribera del Duero of today, which is more about heft, structure, wood and concentration.

But the pursuit of greatness is not limited to making wines from old, singular terroirs at cooler, higher elevations, while drawing on past traditions. While the unique sites of Ribera del Duero can yield exceptional wines, they often produce only a few thousand – or even hundreds – of bottles, limiting their global reach.

READ MORE JEREZ 2024 TASTING REPORT: REVIVING THE GOLDEN AGE OF SHERRY

The bigger wineries of Ribera del Duero are still striving to establish well-regarded brands that produce large enough quantities of wine that they can be traded internationally. One winery doing just that is Vega Sicilia, which is perhaps Spain’s most prestigious wine estate.

Pablo Alvarez, the owner of Vega Sicilia, acknowledges the rise of single-parcel wines inspired by Burgundy, but added that they may appeal more to wine writers than to everyday consumers.

His winery produces more than 200,000 bottles annually from its 210 hectares, and it prioritizes consistency through blending the best parcels for its flagship wine, Unico. The cross-vintage blend Reserva Especial delivers even more consistency from a blend of a few vintages, which reflects the signature house style and the supreme quality.

The 2025 release of Vega Sicilia’s Ribera del Duero Reserva Especial Unico NV is the recent blend from 2011, 2012 and 2013. While it isn’t a wine that shouts vineyard singularity, it does come with great length, depth, polish and complexity, but the real “wow” factor here is its remarkable consistency.

Today, many Ribera del Duero producers still follow Vega Sicilia's model of knitting together various terroirs to achieve great quality, but there has also been a shift toward better extraction of polished tannins and a move away from a reliance on new oak, clumsy bottles and extravagant packaging, which mostly led to inflated prices.

Don’t forget that the wines of Ribera del Duero are among Spain's most highly priced bottles, which may explain why the larger producers are more resistant to change – it’s hard to pivot away from what works on the market once premium status has been established.

Still, for a region with substantial limestone clay and diverse soils and climates, there is plenty of untapped potential in Ribera del Duero. Given the success of standout producers like Vega Sicilia and Pingus, we believe there is bound to be much more to come, and the future looks promising. In fact, it’s just the beginning…

– Zekun Shuai

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