Winemaker Notes
Blend: 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Sard'n del Duero is just outside Ribera del Duero, where Abadia Retuerta's wines share the same power and ripeness of the neighboring appellation. This wine's notes of figs and chestnuts merge with flavors of blackberries in liqueur. The powerful tannic structure carries that formidable weight like the pillars of a bridge.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
These are impressive wines, although in terms of value for money, I would head straight to the 2009 Seleccion Especial, a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. It has a rounded, iodine-tinged bouquet with great purity and panache, the oak seamlessly integrated with scents of black coffee developing over time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy texture, crisp acidity and very fine tannins. It has a velvety, caressing texture with blackberry, cassis and espresso towards the precise, supple finish. This is an accomplished, flavor-packed wine...
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.