Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Polished, restrained and powerful, this red offers ripe yet fresh flavors of black cherry, licorice and tar, supported by firm, well-integrated tannins. Not showy, but has depth and drive.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Pago Negralada is a single-vineyard varietal Tempranillo which seems to benefit from the cooler 2010 growing season, with ripe aromas of red and black fruit, lively and floral. The palate is medium-bodied, with marked acidity, good freshness and abundant, grainy tannins. It is a Tempranillo for the table.
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Wine Enthusiast
Feral, rustic aromas of sweaty leather, tar, animal hide and dried cheese override core berry fruit scents. This is a tannic, grippy monster with a mix of licorice, medicinal and black-fruit flavors. The finish is staunch and tannic, with creamy oak notes and a borderline syrupy feel. Drink from 2016 through 2025.
Cellar Selection
The rebirth of a historic vineyard and of a whole winemaking tradition, the excellence of which remains intact, laid the foundations for today’s Abadía Retuerta winery. It now has over 30 years of history, as expert hands manage the vineyard by carefully looking after it and creating unique wines with their own Protected Designation of Origin.
Abadía Retuerta is a unique place where time stands still and feelings run high. Here, the past lives on in the present, and centuries of tradition and culture remain intact. It sits within an enclave bathed by the river Duero, which defines the traits of the surrounding terroir. Experts with great patience, know-how and anticipation really get the best out of the terrain: they respect the natural cycles and help the vines adapt to the austere climate of the region, in order to produce one of the estate’s most prized assets: its first-rate wine.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.