Ribera Del Duero Rioja and Toro Wine tasting at Wine Watch

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 07:30 PM

This Event has been read: 2346 times.

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“With bread and wine you can walk your road”
Spanish Proverb quotes

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April is ON and this is our annual Ribera Del Duero tasting only this year we are adding a few friends to the party like Rioja and Toro so the big three of northern Spain will be on the table with over a dozen examples of these regions for you to taste. And you know whenever we have a chance to put a leg of Pata Negra on the table we take it and we will be serving the greatest of all the Jamons this evening along with a few tasty treats from Wine Watch Catering’s Toni Lampasone.  This is a walk around event with only 18 spaces available, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

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Ribera Del Duero Rioja and Toro Wine Tasting at Wine Watch
Wednesday, April 12
7:30pm

 

Stacole

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2014 Aalto Ribera Del Duero
Price: $51.00    Your Price: $44.88

Dark purple. The nose has intense fruit aromas with wood in the background, bringing complexity without detracting from the sense of freshness. The palate is broad, structured and elegant as befits such exceptional phenolic maturity, with no hard edges and a tannic structure in perfect harmony with alcohol and acidity. The typical flavours of the Tempranillo are all present – liquorice, black fruits and roasted coffee, alongside spices and fresh tobacco – provided by an impeccable wood aging. This wine is very long and will no doubt gain in complexity over the years.
Image result for 2012 Hacienda Monasterio Crianza Ribera Del Duero

2012 Hacienda Monasterio Crianza Ribera Del Duero
Price: $45.00   Your Price: $39.60
Quantity in Stock: 4

(94 Points) "The current vintage for the crianza is 2012. The 2012 Crianza, from a dry vintage, resulted much fresher than expected, fresher than 2009 and 2011 in fact. The vines are dry-farmed and were planted some 22 years ago, and you might say they have matured by now. The approximate mixture of grapes in their vineyards is mostly Tempranillo with some 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec, and it's more or less the blend in this wine. The Cabernet works well, providing finesse and some acidity to the Tempranillo. Merlot does not work that well, and they are regrafting it to Cabernet and Malbec, so in future vintages there will be less of it. The wine matured in 20% new French oak barrels for some 20 months. There are no traces of the barriques and the nose took me to the Riberas of yesteryear, with some subtle rusticity; it's ripe without excess and there's good balance between fruit, spices and perhaps something earthy. The palate is extremely balanced, medium-bodied with very fine tannins, tasty, approachable and long. This could very well be the best crianza ever produced at Monasterio. This has to be one of the bargains of the vintage in Ribera, given the quality it delivers. 175,000 bottles produced." The Wine Advocate

 

 

Southern Wine

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2010 Marques de Murrieta Rioja Reserva
Price: $22.50    Your Price: $19.80

A blend of 93% Tempranillo, 4% Mazuelo and 2% Graciano and 1% Garnacha Tinta, always from their own vineyards and hand-harvested between October 2 and 23. Maria the winemaker thinks the Garnacha does not add much to their blend. The grapes fermented separately in stainless-steel vats and the wine aged for 21 months in American oak barrels.  Has a pretty nose of carmel troffee, strawberry jam and some vanilla and sweet dill like notes.  This wine has a smooth easy drinking texture on the tongue with a good amount of pretty strawberry fruit and a nice touch of that spice and nuance from the nose through the finish.  Finish 40+    Excellent   

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2007 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja
Price: $33.75    Your Price: $29.70

~“The 2007 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, the Tempranillo from 30-year-old vineyards La Cuesta and Montecillo in the villages of Fuenmayor and Cenicero, and the Garnacha from old head-pruned vines at 600 meters altitude in Tudelilla, in Rioja Baja, from plots next to their Finca La Pedriza. Those should soon be mature enough to go into the wine (they were planted in 2004 and they will make it into the Ardanza blend from 2007-2008). The grapes are fermented separately with natural yeasts and the Tempranillo then matured in American oak barrels averaging four years old for 36 months, while the Garnacha matured in second- and third-use American oak barrels for 30 months. The nose is very fresh, with notes of beef blood, iron, cherries in liqueur, some subtle leather and spices plus notes of autumn forest and truffles. The palate is more lively and has some tannins that would feel better integrated with some food or a little bit of time in bottle It was bottled in November 2011. This will be released around September/October 2015, so by the time it hits the shelves it will be more polished. Great value for money. 600,000 bottles were produced. La Rioja Alta celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2015. Last year, I only tasted three wines from La Rioja Alta and I tasted six this time. The quality is as good as ever, with superb wines from the almost-perfect 2005 vintage coming into the market. Great Rioja, as traditional as it gets, in good quantity and moderate (and often plain great) prices.” — Luis Gutierrez / eRobertParker.com

 

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2010 Muga Rioja Reserva Selection Especial
Price: $45.00    Your Price: $39.60

GRAPES: 70 % Tempranillo, 20 % Garnacha, 7 % Mazuelo and 3% Graciano.

TASTING: You can find good, even depth of colour with purple glints right in the heart of the glass without the least sign of oxidation.

Its nose preserves the character which defines this harvest: the fruit a rung below the dominant ripeness which mingles with hints of liqueurs which you can only find in this wine and not in the rest of the range from the same vintage.

The tertiary aromas come through in the form of leather and very faint hints of cloves and mountain herbs.

It is on the palate that it reveals its greatest strengths: fruit you can almost chew, soft, silky tannin, a good level of acidity and infinite mineral nuances. The synergy of these sensations creates a really powerful impact on the taster.

The features detected in direct olfaction are repeated in retro-olfaction, but almost in reverse order.

The fruit, now a little riper, comes to the fore, the spices from the oak and the mountain herbs rise to the same level and the hints of liqueur disappear.

While it is already a more than satisfactory, it needs some time in the bottle for its aromas and flavours. A little patience will be richly rewarded.

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2012 Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial Sardon Del Duero
Price: $29.75    Your Price: $26.18
Quantity in Stock: 22

This is our best-known wine worldwide. Produced from a selection of the best grapes from each of our vineyards, it combines the richness of a Tempranillo and the elegance of a Cabernet Sauvignon with the strength of a Syrah.

Dark red colour with a clean, complex and fresh nose. On the palate, it has an intense fruity touch, mainly of red fruits. Aged 16 months in French and American oak barrels, the wood infuses notes of cedar, pastry and dark roasting. It attacks the palate politely but firmly.

 

In 2005, Abadía Retuerta Selección Especial 2001 received the award at the International Wine Challenge in London as the world’s best red wine. This is a very well-balanced wine, harmonious, with a rich bouquet and incredible expressiveness.

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2011 Numanthia Numanthia Toro Spain
Price: $45.00    Your Price: $39.60

The 2011 vintage was quite early in our region. The end of the 2010 autumn was very fresh, humid and followed by an extremely cold winter with abundant snow falls during December. The spring was early, warm and humid, thus the bud burst started on the 30th of March, quite early for the region, as well as flowering, which began by the 25th of May, fifteen days earlier than usual. Spring storms happened, increasing the water availability for the vine while decreasing the amount of berries in the grapes due to limited berry set. Veraison was achieved during the first week of August, after a very dry and mild summer with very marked thermal amplitude that ended with high temperatures. Harvest started on the 16th of September and finished on the 5th of October

 

Extras!!

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2009 Alidis Crianza Ribera Del Duero
Price: $25.00    Sale Price: $20.00
Quantity in Stock: 12

 

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2010 Angel de Arrocal Ribera Del Duero
Price: $57.00    Your Price: $50.16
Quantity in Stock: 7

Arrocal Angel is 100% Tinto Fino sourced from a single organically farmed 70-year-old vineyard and aged for 20 months in new French oak. Only the top 8 barrels a year are  chosen for this cuvee.

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2005 Conde De Valdemar Rioja Grand Reserva
Price: $39.75    Sale Price: $22.50

(91 Points) "Deep red. Oak-accented red berries and cherry on the highly fragrant nose. Silky, sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering pliant redcurrant and cherry-vanilla flavors with suggestions of chewing tobacco and licorice. Finishes smooth and smoky, with lingering sweetness, harmonious tannins and very good persistence." Vinous / Antonio Galloni

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2010 Campo Alegre Toro
Price: $33.00    Sale Price: $25.00

This is the entry level wine from this estate which is one of Michel Rolland's projects in Spain. 100% Tinto De Toro or Tempranillo and this wine has a wonderful concentration of sun dried black and red berry fruit dried meats and some pretty floral notes, coco and mocha. A good amount of rich ripe jammy fruit on the tongue with fine tannins and a nice freshness to the finish, echoing that nuance from the nose through the finish. finish 35+ Very Good

Image result for 2012 Artadi Valdegines Rioja Laguardia

2012 Artadi Valdegines Rioja Laguardia
Price: $67.50    Your Price: $59.40

These two vineyards are within 50 meters of each other this one is facing east (Morning Sun) and the other is facing west (afternoon sun), the soils are the same and this is the only difference. This wine has a beautiful bouquet with fresh flowers, strawberry jam like fruit very intense and has a forward and appealing nature right after opening. Rich and concentrated on the tongue with a good deal of red berry fruit, a nice hand of spice and that pretty floral nuance from the nose lasting through the finish. Finish 50+ Most Excellent

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Menu

Roasted Chicken Tacos with Mole and Avocado Sour Crème

Beef Short rib Empanadas

Pata Negra, Charcuterie and Cheese plate

This tasting is a walk around event and is limited to 18 tasters.  The fee for this event is $45 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or email andy@winewatch.com

 

A bit about Ribera Del Duero:

Officially, the Denominación de Origen (D.O.) of Ribera del Duero was founded on July 21, 1982 by an organization of wine producers and growers who were determined to promote the quality of their wines and enforce regulatory standards.

In practice, winemaking in Ribera dates back over 2,000 years to the Roman era, as evidenced by a recent find, a 66-meter mosaic of Bacchus, the god of wine, unearthed at Baños de Valdearados.  In the middle ages, new plantings by monasteries such as the Cistercians in Valbuena de Duero (first to arrive in the 12th Century) and the Benedictines from Cluny in Burgundy spurred a revival in local winemaking.  Ribera’s earliest underground cellars with their distinctive chimneys were built in the thirteenth century in towns across the region, and still serve to protect wines from the extreme climate.

Wine became an essential aspect of Ribera’s cultural and economic development facilitating trade with other areas of Spain and resulting in the first quality regulations, the "Ordinances of Castilla y León," in the fifteenth century.  Ribera wines were highly regarded for export at the height of the Spanish Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in more recent times the founding of Bodega Vega Sicilia in 1864 heralded the quality credentials of the region prior to the formal establishment of the D.O.

Today, new technology and modern techniques as well as a respect for tradition have driven the quality of Ribera del Duero to its highest accomplishments in over two millennia of winemaking history. Ribera wines have received international acclaim and enjoy widespread distribution.

The climate of Ribera del Duero is unique and ideally suited to growing quality red grapes. Mediterranean with Continental influences, the Ribera climate is characterized by extremes; the region has the highest average elevation in Europe for growing red wine grapes, hot summers, cold winters, a short growing season, minimal rainfall, and a diversity of soils.  Combined, these conditions favor the highest quality winemaking.

Summers are short and hot with temperatures ranging from 50 to 60 °F (10 to 15.5 °C) at night to over 100 °F (38 °C) during the day.  Rapid daily temperature changes during the growing season facilitate healthy ripening of the grapes by day, and promote balanced acidity and aromatic complexity at night.  Moderate to low rainfall, with an average of approximately sixteen inches per year, and extremely limited summer rainfall, also contributes to a perfect, consistent ripening of the vine.

On average, the vineyards of Ribera are planted between approximately 2,500 to 2,800 feet (760 to 850 meters) above sea level (with some vineyards as high as 3,100 feet or 945 meters), resulting in considerable differential between night and daytime temperatures.

Soil conditions in Ribera are near-perfect, with a great diversity of soils extending from the banks of the Duero to the steepest slopes.  Closest to the river, soils are alluvial with sand and reddish clay.  At higher elevations, alternating layers of limestone, marl and even chalk are a notable feature, even with many outstanding plantings on limestone sites.

The main grape variety of the Ribera region is Tempranillo, known locally as Tinto Fino or Tinta del País. Tempranillo, an early-ripening variety, (from "temprano" meaning "early"), is ideally suited to Ribera’s shorter growing season and extreme conditions.

Widely planted and cherished throughout Spain, Tempranillo produces red wines that are well-balanced in sweetness, color and acidity and yields fresh and fruity characteristics with appealing aromas such as black plums, cherry, and licorice. In Ribera del Duero Tempranillo yields smaller berries, loose clusters and tougher skin, which encourages more skin-to-juice contact and promotes full-bodied, powerful wines that still retain the grape’s renowned elegance. The combination of power and elegance represents Tempranillo’s signature in Ribera del Duero, and the region’s singular contribution to winemaking today.

D.O. Ribera del Duero adheres to and closely monitors strict quality controls. During harvest each winery is assigned a surveyor by the Consejo Regulador of D.O. Ribera del Duero, the governing body that oversees all aspects of the viticultural and winemaking process. The Consejo regulates where the grapes come from, the varieties used, the percentages allowed, vineyard practices including pruning, density, and yields, winemaking procedures, alcohol levels and labeling. In practice, the wineries consistently outperform the high standards set by the Consejo in order to maximize quality production.

There are several designations for wines that are produced in the Ribera del Duero: Joven, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva, and Rosado.

* Joven:  Joven wines have no oak at all. "Joven Roble" and "Joven Barrica" are interchangeable terms that refer to wines aged for a short period of three to six months in oak, released soon after harvest. All wines with a Joven classification are fruity and vibrant, and meant to be consumed quite young.

* Crianza:  Aged two years, a minimum of twelve months in oak barrels. They can be released after the first of October, two years after the harvest. These wines have well balanced tannins with a full-bodied and velvety mouthfeel.

* Reserva:  Aged three years, a minimum of twelve months in oak barrels; can only be placed on the market after the first of October of the third year after the harvest.  After twelve months in oak barrels, Reserva wines are then bottled and laid down in winery cellars, producing wines that are ready to drink once they enter the market. Reserva wines are elegant and intense, with a rich aftertaste that is long and persistent.

* Gran Reserva:  Wines of outstanding quality, made in select vintage years only. Aged a minimum of sixty months, with twenty-four months in oak barrels minimum followed by additional bottle aging. First release is allowed after the first of October, five years after the harvest. After twenty-four months in oak barrels, Gran Reserva wines are then bottled and laid down in winery cellars, producing wines ready that are ready to drink at the time of release. Gran Reserva wines are complex and structured, with great balance and vitality.

* Rosado:  Rosé wines are fermented without the skin of the grape and are available shortly after the harvest. Easy to enjoy, with refreshing wild-berry flavors.

The use of oak is closely regulated by type and classification. In addition, oak barrels are changed every four years on average.

Maximum Yields are limited to 7,000 kilograms per hectare (3.1 tons per acre). In practice, the average yields for the past twenty-two years have rarely exceeded 3,600 kilograms per hectare (1.6 tons per acre),  as grape-growers reduce quantity, driven by a pursuit of quality.

 

Rioja

 

The Denominacion de Origen Calificada Rioja is divided into three sub regions, which are: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja.  Alluvial soil, calcareous clay and ferruginous clay, they own 336 acres. This area is known for wines with great acidity and structure built for long aging. The Rioja Alavesa terrain is mostly terraced and consists of mostly limestone and clay. It produces wines with great finesse and classic flavors in the local varietals. The family owns 244 acres here. The Rioja Baja is comprised of alluvial clay with large areas of ferruginous and calcareous clay. Wines from this region contribute body and color.

 

Toro

The Toro meso-climate is continental with an oceanic influence. With an average rainfall of only nine-to-12 inches (350 to 400 mm) per year, the region is very dry and at the limit of what is possible for non-irrigated vines. These could not survive without the humidity retained in the layers of clay in the sub-soil. The summer months are hot by day and cool by night, with thermal variations that are often greater than 20°C (68°F). Winter months are very cold. These extreme conditions produce grapes of exceptional quality.

Toro wines are made from a single grape variety specific to the region called "Tinta de Toro" - which is part of the Tempranillo family and is a pre-phylloxeran massal selection that is specific to this region. In Toro they believe this grape may be Spain's original variety, with Tempranillo in Rioja having sprung from it. Tinta de Toro is one of the darkest of all red grapes.

In the sandy soils of the region, "Tinta de Toro" is resistant to Phylloxera – one of the only places in Europe to have survived the blight. What is extremely rare in Europe is for these vines to be ungrafted and to have naturally resisted Phylloxera for over 140 years.