Pago de Los Capellanes Crianza 2004

Owned by Francisco Rodero and his wife Conchi Villa, Pago de los Capellanes is an estate located 1 km from Pedrosa de Duero - a Burgos village in which some of the best Ribera del Duero grapes are harvested. Its name has historical origins, harking back to a time when it belonged to the church and chaplains from nearby Pedrosa frequented the place. Today, the setting has been completely transformed. There is a 70-hectare vineyard surrounding the estate planted in espalier to Tempranillo (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Merlot (10%). The winery has plans to extend the vineyard to 80 hectares in order to supply itself exclusively with its own grapes and to achieve a limited production of 500,000 bottles per year. The winery has a unique 1600-square meter barrel facility, constructed completely underground in a hillside. In addition, the facility is equipped with the latest in equipment. The grapes are harvested in October to ensure that they have reached optimum ripeness. The harvest is then carefully transported to the cellar, where a rigorous selection of fruit takes place. The fully-stripped bunches are fermented and macerated with skins in steel vats (around 12 days for young wines and 30 days for Crianza, with the caps punched down several times daily) until sugar and density controls confirm that it is time to separate the wine and press the grape remnants. Next, cellar temperature is regulated to help malolactic fermentation. The Ribera's cold autumn generally makes it necessary to raise the temperature. After some rest and two rackings, every vat is tasted and evaluated to classify all the wines of the vintage. Vino Joven (Young Wine) is aged 3 months in oak barrels and bottled in the spring. The Crianza is aged in oak barrels (60% American and 40% French oak) for 12 months. The Reserva is aged 18 months in new oak barrels. Finally, there are 15 different types of barrels used in the wine-making. French oak is predominantly Allier and Nevers from Demptos and Radoux. American oak is sourced from Toneleria Magreñan, Burgos, and Demptos. All wines are bottled without any stabilization or filtration.