Winemaker Notes
Intense dark red wine that, despite its body, gives off a delicate air to sweet spices, exotic fruits and mineral aromas. Its persistent bouquet of gooseberry distills breed.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Bright violet. Powerful cherry, cassis, incense, smoky oak and roasted coffee aromas are energized by a jolt of zesty minerality and a building floral nuance. Deep-pitched cherry liqueur, black currant and vanilla flavors expand and become livelier with air, picking up a hint of toasty oak spice and showing very good clarity. Finishes smooth, spicy and extremely long, with mounting tannins and lingering suggestions of cherry liqueur, mocha and cola. Raised in new French oak barrels.
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James Suckling
A lot of charred-wood and bitter-chocolate character from the oak, but there are plenty of ripe blackcurrants behind it, showing much better on the palate than the nose. Quite serious tannins at the finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Valdebellón and Negralada, their single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo, respectively, are released as part of their Añadas Históricas library release of selected wines. The 2015 Pago Valdebellón, from a warm and Mediterranean vintage that delivered powerful wines, comes in at 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.73 and 5.19 grams of acidity. It matured in barrel for 18 months. This shows more evolution, with an oxidative note, clearly metallic, with an earthy twist on the palate and some dustiness from the tannins. Rating: 92+
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Decanter
Powerful intense fruit, framed by oriental spice and balsamic herbal nuances with touches of chocolate. Rich and juicy palate, firm tannins.
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.