Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely blue and purple fruit with a hint of violets, bergamot and cocoa powder. This is complex and fluid on the palate with a medium to full body with lots of blue fruit in the very long, elegant finish. Delicious now, but can hold, too.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Reminiscent of the 2016, the 2018 Pago Negralada has a mixture of red and black fruit, some spices and firm but fine-grained tannins that give it tension and a chalky sensation in the texture. It has 14.5% alcohol and good freshness and balance. It matured in one-third new oak. In general, the 2018s have less color than the corresponding 2019s, but it's more noticeable in this single-vineyard Tempranillo. It feels varietal and complex, with some development and notes of berries, spices and brick dust, serious, subtle and harmonious. The palate reveals the austerity of the vintage and the place, and it is medium to full-bodied, with fine tannins. It reminds me of the wines from the Duero from yesteryear. A vintage like the ones from the past?
Rating: 94 -
Vinous
The 2018 Tempranillo Pago de Negralada (from a single vineyard in DO Abadía Retuerta, Sardón del Duero) was 60% aged in French oak barrels, with the remainder kept in stainless steel vats. Purple in hue. The aromas feature blackberry, blackcurrant, mint and hazelnut in a cedar frame. The palate is dry and plush with reactive tannins and a juicy flow. The 2018 is a restrained, substantial wine.
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Wine Spectator
A toasty red, with melted licorice, smoke and vanilla notes interlaced with glossy black cherry and boysenberry fruit, backed by a fragrant thread of Mediterranean macchia. Bright tangerine peel acidity trims the generous flavors nicely, while dense tannins show a creamy edge on the finish.
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.