Viña Pedrosa Ribeiro del Duero Crianza 2016

Description

Viña Pedrosa Ribeiro del Duero Crianza 2016 is Hermanos Pérez Pascuas’ top class Ribeiro del Duero Crianza produced 100% from Tempranillo, more often associated with Rioja. The grapes are selected individually in the vineyard to make sure that only the best berries are selected. Fermentation takes place with natural yeasts to keep things as authentically Ribeiro Del Duero as possible. Crianza implies a relatively young wine but Viña Pedrosa Ribeiro del Duero Crianza 2016 does not look, smell or taste young – and it is still developing. The wine is showing ripe fruit and freshness but with quite developed savoury and spicy characteristics after 18 months in a mix of new and old oak barrels (vs. 12 months minimum required for Ribeiro del Duero Crianza wines) and several years in bottle. Black fruits with cranberry and spices like vanilla, liquorice and clove are evident together with some meaty notes. The wine is medium to full-bodied, balanced and rounded. The tannins are just noticeable with a slight drying effect but they are balanced. The wine is silky and the cranberry & savoury finish very long.  This really is a top class classical Ribeiro del Duero.

Ribeiro del Duero one of those wine regions in Spain that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It is something of a well-kept secret. It can be expensive but it is usually worth it. I have been a fan of the producers of this wine, Hermanos Pérez Pascuas, for many years. They never disappoint. This winery, a veteran and considered a pioneer in Ribera del Duero, began activities in 1980, when three brothers, Benjamín, Manuel and Adolfo Pérez Pascuas, convinced of the excellent potential that lay in the vineyards owned by their father, Mauro, decided to initiate an ambitious project: ‘to make one of the best wines in Spain and to carve a niche for it in the international marketplace’. Two generations of the family work together to fulfil this aim and Hermanos Pérez Pascuas is now considered to be one of the leading challengers to Vega Sicilia.

For a similar style of wine, see Granja Remelluri Rioja Gran Reserva.