Ray on the Road in Ribera
I could hear a familiar clanking round even before we rounded the corner. The Mauro bottling line was in full swing. Before I knew it Alberto was thrusting a glass in my direction. He swiped a bottle before a cork could be inserted and within seconds Mauro 2005 was being poured into the glass in my hand. “White pepper” was my immediate response. Perhaps the 10% Sarah was the source and, of course, the telltale liquorice was not far behind. In the mouth this wine was simply stunning. Fresh, vibrant and velvety it coated my mouth and refreshed my palate. Not a bad start to my annual tour of Ribera del Duero. I usually drink my Mauro between the five and ten year mark but perhaps I need to pop the corks a little sooner! This 05 is a stunning wine. Before we reached the bottling line Alberto Garcia took me through the warehouse where the last few cases of Mauro 04 were loaded on pallets waiting to go so they have not had much trouble selling the 04 either.
This bodega seems to be always on the move, either changing architecturally or introducing new wines. Mauro, San Román, Prima, Terreus, Astrales, Paixar, Aalto are all connected to the Garcia family.
Over Lunch we tasted Mauro Vendimia Selectionada 03 and San Román 04. The VS was a little subdued and overshadowed on the day by the glorious San Román 04. The conversation was flowing so I didn’t take out my notebook so apologies for the lack of detailed notes, but trust me on the San Román 04 and the Mauro 05.
Keen to visit other wineries I discussed options with Alberto and from a long list I managed to secure appointments with two wineries in the time available.
I met Eduardo Garcia before leaving and this talented young winemaker was worried about the lack of fruit this year. I was soon to learn he wasn’t the only one with such concerns.
Leaving Tudela de Duero I headed east towards Roa. If the Garcia family is old hands I was heading towards the new kids on the block.
Well, Javier Alonso and María del Yerro are no kids but they are certainly new to the world of wine. María, a former translator, and Javier, who sold his share of a family pharmaceutical business, have embarked on an ambitious project to produce two wines at their new bodega. They bought the four plots on the Roa to Anguix road in 2002. The 100% tempranillo vines had been planted in 1989.
They pursue a highly scientific approach but employ only natural methods to rectify any problems. The soil is analysed but any deficiencies are rectified by planting a mix of cereals between the rows of vines. They have employed respected Bordeaux based oenologist Stephane Derenoncourt to advise on the vineyard and vinification. Like him they believe the wine is made in the vineyard and are constantly striving to ensure the vines are tended correctly, they are proud of the fact that they have their own compost !
When the fruit from a section of the Santa Maria vineyard was unsatisfactory they discovered a layer of water was preventing the roots from reaching the rich manganese soil below. A project was undertaken to drain the water layer and they claim the fruit is already improving. But not this year.
Javier took me on a tour of his vineyards, the vines looked healthy but there were hardly any grapes. The fruit that was there was small and green. Everything was looking good until the third week of May “The grapes were fantastic but in 50-minutes it was all gone” Maria told me. A hail shower cut the fruit from the vines. Of the two cuvees they produce there will be no “Maria” in 2007 and they hope to have 25,000 bottles of “Alonso del Yerro” instead of the usual 70,000. And they are not alone. The same hail affected others as well. Mildew and a plague of voles are other impediments winemakers in Ribera and Toro have to contend with this year.
We moved to the ageing cellar to taste some previous vintages. Here the woman’s touch was evident, the usually sparse walls of these places were decorated with framed cloths from Maria’s collection. Javier drew a sample from one of the barrels.
“Alonso del Yerro 2006” (barrel sample). Light purple, pink at the rim. Lovely pure fruit. Still not wholly integrated. Smooth tannins, lovely mouth feel. Still a very young wine though with another six months to go in barrel. A sample of the same wine from another barrel was quite different with the oak much more dominant and the fruit more muted. They use medium toast French oak from four different tonneliers.
“Maria 206” (barrel sample). Darker in colour than the “Alonso”, liquorice and black fruit. Fuller and more rounded, some minerality. This cask was from the “Quinto de Pedro” vineyard. We then tasted a sample from the “Montserrat” vineyard. A strong aroma of violets. Much more floral than the previous sample. These various barrels will be blended a month before bottling. 15,000 bottles of the “Maria” will be produced.
“Maria 2005”( bottled June 2007). Deep cherry colour, purple at rim. Floral aromas with some minerality. Nose quite restrained at the moment though. Black fruit and liquorice came through. Good quality fruit evident. Smooth tannins. Good length.
I drove away thinking just how precarious the wine making business can be. You can take all the correct steps in the vineyard but an hour of bad weather at the wrong time and your labour is lost.
Alonso del Yerro is a small bodega with four plots, Pago de Los Capellanes have thirty seven. They have been producing wines under their own name for just over a decade. From their 100 hectares they produce 650,000 litres of wine a year. Along with “Prima” from Mauro and Bodegas Sastre’s “Roble” they produce, to my mind, one of the best value wines in Ribera del Duero. It is one of my favourite summer reds and I thought it was time to see where it is produced and check out the rest of the range.
I had hoped to meet Paco Casas the winemaker but I was met instead by Xandra González Olmos. Often meeting someone from the sales department fills me with dread but Xandra proved to be both charming and extremely good company. She told me they also had concerns about fruit following the hailstorm but that the sheer number of parcels afforded them some protection. The ageing room has 2,600 barrels of 22 different types. After a tour of their futuristic looking bodega I tasted the range of wines.
Pago de Los Capellanes Joven 2006
80% Tempranillo 10% Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Merlot
Purple core with pink rim. Lovely vibrant fruit leaps from the glass.
Red fruits predominate and the wine is smooth and supple in the mouth. A nice smooth finish. This is their only wine with Merlot and it shows. It spends five months in new French oak and retailing for €8 represents a bargain.
A week after tasting this wine at the winery I had a bottle in a restaurant in the north of Spain and while the wine was similar on the nose it was harsher in the mouth. The finish was short and while not unpleasant there was a noticeable astringency. I noted that the label said "Lot 12" I subsequently re-tasted this wine from my cellar (lot 18) and it was identical to the wine tasted at the winery.
Pago de Los Capellanes Crianza 2004
90% Tempranillo 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine spends 12 months in French oak barrels (new and nearly new) and 6 months in bottle.
A cherry core with a pink hue at the rim. Typical tempranillo nose. Good body with smooth tannins. This wine didn't have the vibrant fruit of the previous wine nor the complexity of the subsequent one.
Pago de Los Capellanes Reserva 2003
90% Tempranillo 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
A very floral nose but also with meaty nuances, a touch of leather and spices. There is a slight honeyed aroma. There is a lot going on here. In the mouth it is smooth with some toastiness. Silky and elegant, I really liked this wine, my favourite of the tasting. Retailing for about €25 it represents good value.
Pago de Los Capellanes El Nogal 2003
100% Tempranillo.
This is a new wine from this bodega. The bottle shape and label are different to the rest of the range. The winery obviously want to make a statement that this wine represents a different style. And it does.
This is a much more extracted wine than the others. It is more confected than the previous wines, more modern in style. Lots of dense black fruit combine to provide a full intense mouth feel. Certainly not one for traditionalists. However it is very enjoyable if you like the style. And it's sold out at the bodega. €35
Pago de Los Capellanes El Picón 2003
100% Tempranillo. 26 months in French oak barrels and 12 months in bottle.
This is the bodega's top wine. It's made from grapes grown in a special two hectare parcel. My first impression of this wine was that it was ‘related to’ the Nogal, but while this wine is quite intense it’s not as confected as the Nogal. It has a cherry core getting lighter at the rim. Quite floral on the nose but still quite 'tight', this really needed extended decanting to show at its best. I couldn’t decide if this baby was going to grow up into a sophisticated and elegant creation or a more brash and hedonistic one. This is undoubtedly a very serious wine but it needs time. There was some heat on the finish which I didn't like, the wine is 14.5% and retails for €110.
It's clear that this bodega makes great wines at every level and while El Picón will win no prizes for value for money the Reserva and Roble are great value wines. With the last three wines it was hard to detect to what extent I was tasting the vintage (2003) over the wines, It would be interesting to try the top wines in a less hot vintage.
This is the year of the vole plague in Castilla y Leon, these tiny rodents are wreaking havoc on crops, allied to hail and mildew destroying grapes in certain districts. It will be a struggle for some to produce in 2007. There is, however, a lot of good wine in 2004 and 2005, we may find ourselves drinking it for a while yet. As I drove home from Pedrosa del Duero the heat of the sun was abating and farmers were spreading pig slurry on the fields, not the most pleasant of aromas but quite prevalent in this part of Spain. As this pungent aroma filled my nostrils I couldn’t wait to open a fruity Ribera ‘Roble’.
