Winemaker Notes
With successive vintages lauded by the national and international critics, this excellent wine is a real pleasure for the most demanding palates for its expressiveness and combination of nuances.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There's a pleasing vibrancy to this rich and powerful red, with a core of ripe, bright red currant, raspberry and pomegranate seed flavors interwoven with accents of eucalyptus, dried thyme and sage, fig cake and mocha. The firm tannins are dense but well-meshed and lightly chalky on the savory finish of tobacco and loamy earth notes.
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James Suckling
An impressive Ribera del Duero that’s complex, deep and powerful, with a full load of dusty, reactive tannins. Full-bodied and quite tight and coated, with a firm grip from the fine wood tannins at the end.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2020 Emilio Moro RIBERA DEL DUERO MALLEOLUS DE SANCHOMARTIN is bold and driven on the palate. This wine offers aromas and flavors of fragrant and rustic spices, oaky notes, and dried earthy notes. Enjoy this with a well-seasoned, oven-baked Porchetta. (Tasted: July 23, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
Ribera del Duero, Spanish wine region, is located in northen Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive from Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back more than 2000 years, it was in the 1980s that 9 wineries applied for and were granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 300 wineries call Ribera del Duero home, including some of Spain’s most iconic names.
Notable Facts Ribera’s main grape variety, Tempranillo, locally know as Tinto Fino, is perfectly suited to the extreme climate of the region, where it must survive scorching summers and frigid winters. Low yields resulting from conscientious tending to old vines planted in Ribera’s diverse soils types, give Ribera wines a distinctive depth and complexity not found in other Tempranillos. Rich and full-bodied, the spice, dark fruit and smoky flavors in a bold Ribera del Duero will pair well with roasted and grilled meats, Mexican food and tomato-based sauces.