Finca Villacreces Pruno 2022 - One of the Greatest Values from Ribera del Duero and all the Ribera del Duero in the store on SALE!!
"Appreciating old wine is like making love to a very old lady. It is possible. It can even be enjoyable. But it requires a bit of imagination."
-Andre Tchelistcheff
When you look at wines that age well some of the best in the world for the $$ come from Spain. We host a vintage Spanish tasting every year and always drink the oldest wines that we have in the store and occasionally we find a bottle that is very inexpensive which many would not consider a wine that you would cellar for more than a few years. I will never forget the 1996 Finca Villacrecea Crianza Ribera del Duero that we opened a few years ago and alongside Pingus, Unico and several other high level expensive 20+ year old Spanish wines it finished among the crowd favorites!
I had a chance to visit this winery in 2002 on a trip wtih the importer at that time Eric Solomon. I remember how our group was amazed at the quality of the wines but even more impressive was the location of the winery, it was right next to two of the aformentioned wines Vega Sicilia and Pingus. The Consulting winemaker for that 1996 vintage wine was none other than Peter Sesseck the founder of Pingus. In fact the first few vintages of Flor De Pingus were made from grapes grown on the Finca Villacreces property.
The entry level wine from this property is one of the biggest over achievers from Ribera Del Duero and at this price one of the best values in the world of not only Spanish wines but fine wines from around the world!
Check out the entire line-up from Finca Villacreces as they are all incredible wines. The estates top wine Nebro is made from century old vines, it is a timeless classic and will age for decades in your cellar. The Specimen is a unique blend of three different vintages which gives you the ability to enjoy the wine young or to age further in the cellar for more nuance and complexity.
Pruno – One of the Greatest Values from Ribera Del Duero
2022 Finca Villacreces Ribera del Duero Pruno
Price: $27.75 Sale Price: $22.00 Quantity in Stock: 72
(92 Points) As I've often heard and seen in this vintage, the result of the 2022 Pruno has been much better than expected after a torrid summer and an early harvest. The wine keeps its balance and poise, its fruit-driven personality and the approachability from previous years. It has contained ripeness, 14.05% alcohol, clean aromas and a juicy and velvety texture. Highly drinkable. It's a blend of 94% Tinto Fino, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot. 575,651 bottles, 10,000 magnums and 100 double magnums produced, so availability shouldn't be a problem. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
After purchasing Finca Villacreces in 2004, the Anton family began the hard work of reinvigorating their vines while also ending contracts by which they sold a significant portion of their fruit to neighbors. In the process they began to notice that some of their plots made an elegant and refreshing style of wine in comparison to the more dense and concentrated, classic Ribera del Duero. Thus Pruno was born as a selection of these vineyard plots. It represents one of the greatest values in Ribera del Duero coming entirely from estate fruit grown on sandy soils surrounded on two sides by the Duero with Vega Sicilia on one remaining border, and a vineyard belonging to Pingus on the other. Nice address!
2020 Finca Villacreces Ribera del Duero
Price: $52.50 Your Price: $46.20
The 2020 Finca Villacreces showcases the essence of the estate, mixing grapes from different soils fermented and aged separately and then blended into a combination of 96% Tempranillo, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot that fermented in concrete and oak vats and matured in 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels for 15 months. A good amount of ripe berry fruit on the nose dark plum and cherry with notes of toasty oak spice, coco and sweet tobacco on the nose. Rich and layered on the tongue with a good amount of sweet ripe tannins and a firm hand of acidity holding things in place nicely through the finish. Finish 45+ Excellent +
Finca Villacreces Specimen Number 3 Ribera del Duero, Spain
Price: $105.00 Your Price: $92.40
A wine with the complexity of an Estate, of two varieties and three vintages, which were made separately and aged in Bordeaux barrels, later to be blended in large 1,200-litre open barrels, or Fudres. There they were to remain for 16 months, allowing the wine to evolve, without tiring it too much due to its light contact with wood, respecting the essence of the Estate, gaining in complexity, and creating one of Finca Villacreces' most surprising wines.
Deep cherry colour, with garnet tones. The three vintages which form the wine give complexity in aroma. Cabernet Sauvignon variety recognized presence emphasizes an intense ripe fruit aroma, liquorice with mineral and balsamic hints. Oak wood is really well integrated thanks to the softening in foudre which gives an elegant delicacy to the wine. On the palate it shows a fatty and mouthfilling entrance continuing until a lingering and longend. The perceived aromas on the nose are transferred to the mouth which allows the enjoyment of a flavorful aroma with ripen tannins and memories of liquorice, fruit, coffee…
85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
2021 Finca Villacreces Nebro Ribera Del Duero
Price: $262.50 Your Price: $231.00
In a small almost centenary plot, of old grapevines and low yields, Nebro is born. A limited-edition wine which is only produced in vintages of extraordinary quality. 16 months. 100% in French oak barrels (Darnajou) and a further 12 months in French foudre (Taransaud). Glass-coating opaque purple with a flamboyant bouquet of mocha, coffee, spice box, floral note, and wild blackberry. On the palate, the wine is packed with layer upon layer of spicy black fruits, superb length, and well concealed tannins. It has a soft toasted aftertaste.
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.
Ribera Del Duero is to the south of Spain’s most famous wine region Rioja. The Ribera del Duero appellation officially came into being in 1982, when there were still only nine wineries bottling in the area and much of the production went directly into jugs and pitchers. But by the early '90s, several dozen new wineries had opened for business, taking advantage of the decades-old vines of Tempranillo (called Tinto del País or Tinto Fino locally). Ribera is home to Spain’s very first “Cult Wine”, Vega Sicilia made by the grandfather of Spanish winemaking Mariano Garcia. A few years later Alejandro Fernadez made a big impact in the world of wine with his Pesquera wines. Today this area is home to some of the hottest new names on the Spanish wine scene: Bodeaga Hermanos, Dominio De Atauta, Hacienda Monasterio, and one of the newest “Cult Wines” of Spain Pingus.
Peter Sisseck, a Danish winemaker came to Ribera del Duero in 1990 by way of Bordeaux to make wine for Hacienda Monasterio. In 1995, he decided to create two new Ribera del Duero wines that established a new paradigm of opulence and power – Pingus and Flor de Pingus. His objective was to make unmistakably Spanish terroir-driven wines. These wines were the first wines to transcend traditional Spanish winemaking. They caused a sensation not only in Spain but throughout the world, with winemakers everywhere scurrying to emulate them. Sisseck has since become a cult figure and his wine ranks with the world’s best and most collectable. He has led a new generation of Spanish winemakers that are producing really top quality wines that reflect the true potential of Spanish wine.
The legendary Pingus is harder to find than the infamous Screaming Eagle from Napa Valley, however the second wine made at this estate, Flor de Pingus, is a taste of this unique terroir at a fraction of the coast (Pingus sells for between $500-$1000 per bottle). Flor De Pingus is made from 100% Tempranillo grapes. After fermentation in steel or large wooden vat, the wines are raised in 100% new French oak. Peter uses as little sulphur as possible and carefully seasons the young wines, controlling their exposure to oxygen and utilizing lees contact to give the final wines their exotic textures. The primary difference between the two cuvees is that the Pingus is made from four parcels of the region’s oldest vines, while the Flor de Pingus is made from more diverse sites, but still with a healthy percentage of old vines.
The rest of the Ribera Del Duero in the store on SALE!!
2022 Dominio de Pingus 'Flor de Pingus' Ribera del Duero
Price: $142.50 Your Price: $125.40 Quantity in Stock: 12
2021 Dominio de Pingus 'Flor de Pingus' Ribera del Duero MAGNUM
Price: $307.50 Your Price: $270.60 Quantity in Stock: 1
2021 Dominio de Pingus 'Flor de Pingus' Ribera del Duero
Price: $142.50 Your Price: $125.40 Quantity in Stock: 7
2017 Pingus Ribera Del Duero MAGNUM 1.5L
Price: $2500.00 Your Price: $2200.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2017 Pingus Ribera Del Duero
Price: $1050.00 Your Price: $924.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2020 Vega Sicilia Bodegas Alion Ribera del Duero
Price: $131.25 Your Price: $115.50 Quantity in Stock: 3
2007 Vega Sicilia Unico Ribera Del Duero
Price: $565.00 Your Price: $497.20 Quantity in Stock: 3
2006 Vega Sicilia Unico Gran Reserva Ribera del Duero
Price: $565.00 Sale Price: $449.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
1989 Vega Sicilia Unico Ribera Del Duero
Price: $1250.00 Sale Price: $895.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
1983 Vega Sicila Unico Ribera Del Duero Magnum
Price: $3950.00 Your Price: $3476.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2019 AALTO RIBERA DEL DUERO MAGNUM 1.5L
Price: $164.00 Your Price: $144.32 Quantity in Stock: 1
2017 Bodegas Antidoto 'Roselito' Rosado Ribera del Duero
Price: $19.50 Your Price: $17.16 Quantity in Stock: 11
2018 Arano Moradillo de Roa Crianza, Ribera del Duero, Spain
Price: $36.00 Sale Price: $30.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
2001 Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro 'Arzuaga' Crianza Ribera del Duero, Spain
Price: $56.25 Your Price: $49.50 Quantity in Stock: 1
2018 Condado de Haza 20 Aldeas Ribera del Duero, Spain
Price: $30.00 Your Price: $26.40 Quantity in Stock: 7
2014 Dominio De Atauta La Mala Ribera Del Duero
Price: $150.00 Your Price: $132.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2014 Dominio De Atauta Valdegatiles Ribera Del Duero
Price: $150.00 Your Price: $132.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
2001 Emina Crianza Ribera del Duero
Price: $37.50 Your Price: $33.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2009 Bodegas J.A. Calvo Casajus NIC Ribera del Duero
Price: $135.00 Your Price: $118.80 Quantity in Stock: 1
2014 Bodegas La Horra Corimbo Ribera Del Douro
Price: $87.50 Sale Price: $70.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2021 Telmo Rodriguez Matallana Ribera del Duero
Price: $93.00 Your Price: $81.84 Quantity in Stock: 6
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