Winemaker Notes
In the glass, this wine presents a deep ruby color. Black fruits with licorice and spicy hints provide it with a great aromatic complexity. The persistence of this wine on the mouth is conferred by its structure and big volume showing the characteristics of the 2022 vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The winery’s top wine, the 2022 was first made in 2000 and is 100% Tempranillo/Tinto Fino. Powerfully built, yet elegant, it combines old-vine grapes planted 60 to 90 years ago from a selection of villages: La Horra-Roa, a hilly area with shallow slopes and reddish-brown soils, and La Aguilera, full of calcareous stone. Together, they offer this contrast of grace and intensity etched in tart red fruit, sweet vanilla, and remarkably refined tannins.
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James Suckling
A rich, deep and complex nose with plenty of wood spices, dark chocolate, fresh blackberries, violets and a touch of graphite. The highlight on the full-bodied palate is the quality and quantity of the tannins, which are massive but polished and dissolved. Really firm and long. Better from 2026, when the wood spices settle more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There's always a little bit more of everything in the PS compared with the regular Aalto. The 2022 PS, cropped from a very warm and dry year, is not only more powerful and tannic but also more balanced and elegant, in that Castilian rustic way. It comes in at 15% alcohol and packs a punch; it's generously oaked (it spent 20 months in new French oak barrels), creamy, toasty and smoky and leaves a dry, chalky sensation in the finish. This is very much for the fans of the style. It's powerful and concentrated with abundant oak.
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Wine Spectator
Both tensile and elegant, this red effortlessly layers orange peel acidity and sculpted tannins with a detailed profile of blackberry paste, chopped black cherry and boysenberry fruit, rooibos tea, licorice root and mineral notes. Long and fluid, with a well-spiced and fragrant push on the finish.
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.