Wine has been made in the area since the Roman era,
but it only became widespread with the arrival of monasteries. Although
producers like Vega Sicilia have been making world-class wine here for more
than a century, the region's true winemaking boom did not come until the late
20th century. Ribera del Duero is a most
unlikely great wine area. Bud break for vines is the latest in Europe. Laid out on a sprawling plateau along the
banks of the Duero River, 120 km north of Madrid, Ribera del Duero is a land of
extremes, a bleak landscape of flat-topped rocky heights on the northern plateau
of Spain, with an average altitude of 700-800 meters. Frosts in May are a constant danger, while September
frosts are less common but still hazardous.
The growing season is short and intense. Biting winters, sun-bleached summers and high
altitudes work hand-in-hand with clay, silt and limestone soils to create the
ideal conditions for Tinto Fino, the local name for the Tempranillo grape,
which makes up 95 percent of wine production. The heart of the Ribera del Duero is the Milla
de Oro, or Golden Mile, a short strip of land hugging the Duero River. The Milla de Oro looks no different than the
countless rows of vineyards cutting across the landscape nearby, but this is
the home of iconic wineries like Vega Sicilia, Abadia Retuerta and Mauro. The area owes everything to the vision of one
man, Eloy Lecanda y Chaves. In 1864
Lecanda inherited a property, now called Vega Sicilia, on the banks of the
Duero and set about transforming a few hundred hectares of pine forest and
scrubby fields into a model agricultural estate. Eloy Lecanda was a visionary rather than an
astute businessman; he went bust. The
estate saved by the Herrero brothers, a decade or two later began producing
wines of astonishing heady perfume, depth and longevity. These Vega Sicilia
Únicos, aged for up to a decade in a strange assortment of barrels, were not
sold through the usual commercial channels but given as gifts to friends of the
well-connected new owners. They acquired legendary status. Unfortunately we are not going there but to Abadia Retuerta.
 |
|
The Abbey
|
 |
|
300mm rain?
It must have all come today!
|
In 1982 there were only 14 estates in Ribera del
Duero; now there are more than 300, among them, Abadia Retuerta, a unique
contrast of old and new. Located in
Sardón del Duero with a modern cellar, and an incredible 12th century
Romanesque monastery on the property, wines are tasted in the centuries old,
high vaulted monk’s dining quarters. The monastery, originally founded in 1145,
by the aristocratic Doña Mayor, who was the very wealthy daughter of Count
Ansúrez, Lord of Valladolid. The Abbey
was one of many monastery-fortresses built during the Christian re-conquest in
the region of Castile. The family of Ansúrez
left terras et vineas to the French-based order of St. Norbert which was the
beginning of this estate’s history of producing wine. Fast forward to the 21st century the winery,
now owned by the Swiss company Novartis who have restored the monastery as a
luxury hotel, is making incredible wines. The estate covers 710 ha, of which 210 ha are
planted to vineyards. Elevation ranges
from 640 m near the Duero to an elevation of roughly 780 m. Alternating layers of limestone, marl and
chalk under silt and clay topsoil add complexity and character to Ribera del
Duero wines. The extreme continental climate
is semi-desert with hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall averages 300 mm to 450 mm. Abadía Retuerta’s wines are all produced under
the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León appellation. Being outside of the DO Ribera del Duero
allows them to use drip irrigation when needed.
The winery is conceived around a gravity flow system (some heavy lifting
required) and features an aging cellar of 5,000-barrel capacity cut into the
adjacent mountainside. When grapes enter
the winery they are dumped into a stainless hopper that is then lifted by an
overhead crane and deposited into one of 80 stainless fermentation vats.
 |
|
Cranes do the initial heavy lifting then its
gravity's job.
|
 |
|
World's best pinenuts!
|
