A taste of History

While visiting Bodegas Sastre in Ribera del duero this year Jesús Sastre went to the cellar and retrieved an old bottle.
It was Conde de Siruella Reserva 1970.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_uxt3zJgqlYI/TGldty33hzI/AAAAAAAAAeA/MC87ozcC-84/s512/P1000526.JPG

Before Ribera del Duero became famous and grape growers realised they could become richer bottling their wines as opposed to selling their grapes most wine was made by co-ops.
The Santa Eulalia co-operative made this wine.
It's a winery under new ownership now but back in 1970 the fruit from the vineyards around the village of Roa sent their grapes their. The Sastre family did and so too did the farmer who owned the vineyard that now makes Spain's most expensive wine- Pingus.
I was salivating at the prospect of tasting my oldest Ribera del Duero. Back in 1970 there was probably only a handful of wineries in this region.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_uxt3zJgqlYI/TGlds8U3CqI/AAAAAAAAAd8/djL0EgJDHdg/s720/P1000529.JPG

The colour was a brick/orange but incredibly clear.
On the nose there was the tempranillo meets Pinot aroma I have encountered with old Rioja. It's also a touch lifted.
On the palate it's quite tart. Alive but lacking in fruit and without the fruit core that makes so many old Riojas so interesting. It's a pleasant drink in its own right but not a great wine.
No way of knowing if this is a representative bottle or not.

The enologist was one Teofilo Reyes who went on to become the winemaker at Pesquera and who made the wine Robert Parker called Spain's Petrus.
This in turn led to a revolution in winemaking in this part of Spain.

It's not everyday you get a taste of history.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_uxt3zJgqlYI/TGldsfvCh3I/AAAAAAAAAd4/9ZnK79CmEws/s512/P1000530.JPG