Winemaker Notes
Dark red color with a clean, complex and fresh nose. On the palate, it has an intense fruity touch, mainly of red fruits. Aged 19 months in French and American oak barrels, the wood infuses notes of cedar, pastry and dark roasting. It attacks the palate politely but firmly.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Alluring for its plush texture and impressive for its depth, this red delivers plum, currant, licorice, tar and mineral flavors that are rich and focused. The firm tannins are well-integrated, kept lively by fresh acidity. Smoke and floral notes mingle on the long finish. Drink now through 2031. 30,000 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Moving to the reds, the 2011 Seleccion Especial is a blend of Tempranillo with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, bottled after 16 months maturation in oak. 2011 was a good vintage for all varieties and basically for all their different vineyards, which range from 740 (Negralada the lowest) to 820 (Valdebellon, the highest) meters altitude and produced a very balanced blend, with clean aromas, good harmony and integration of the oak. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with a lush texture, ripe and round, big-sized but balanced as all varieties ripened homogeneously. 460,000 bottles produced. Drink now-2018.
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James Suckling
A firm and savory wine with sliced berry and light chocolate character. Medium body. Solid fruit. A blend of tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. Very drinkable. Enjoy.
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.