2010 Dominio del Aguila Penas Aladas Gran Reserva

The great news here is that their first Gran Reserva is about to be released under the name 2010 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva. It is sourced from small plots of vineyards in a quarter of the Aguilera vineyards, known locally as Peñas Aladas (winged stones?), although the spelling might vary according to the locals you might talk to, where they own some very old vineyards that are surrounded by pine tree forests. The old vineyards have a mixture of grapes, always dominated by Tempranillo, but with others (Cariñena, Bruñal, Bobal, Albillo...) that make up around 15% of the volume of the wine. The full clusters fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and the wine aged slowly for 51 months in oak in a very cold cave where the aging is extremely slow, as the low temperatures (the ideal 12 C all year round) make wines evolve at a glacial pace. The wine was raised in barrel until they felt the tannins had achieved the velvety texture they were looking for. The nose is incredibly perfumed with notes of violets, wild berries and plenty of Asian spices; it is quite heady, properly ripe (without excess), complex and very showy. The palate is velvety but with chalky tannins that cling to your teeth and make it very tasty with an austere minerality. There is great freshness and gobsmacking balance. Believe it or not, this is still a baby that should have a very long life in bottle. 2010 was definitively a great vintage and this wine shows it. Simply superb, fine, elegant Ribera del Duero for the future; I'd love to revisit this in 2023! 1,100 bottles produced. The price has not yet been set. There might also be a small quantity of another single vineyard, Cantalaperdiz, bottled and sold separately in the future. Stay tuned.