Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dried lemons and roasted spices on the nose with a hint of toast and apricot pastry. Bright and spicy on the palate with a medium body and a fresh, bright and flavorful finish. Drink now.
Florentino Arzuaga is an enthusiast of the boundless horizons and wide open spaces of Castile where there is still room for nature and wildlife to exist undisturbed. Here, not far from the silent-running waters of the Duero River, Florentino bought an estate, which due to its large size has horizons of its own.
Later came the vines, the winery and, finally, the wine. Florentino has sought the red is a wine with structure, elegant, assertive and complex at the same time.
Florentino Arzuaga has the tenacious spirit of an entrepreneur coupled with an aesthetic and perfectionist sensitivity.
He is at once modest and soft-spoken, yet has been capable, in a very short time, of placing the red that bears his family name on the most sumptuous wine lists.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Ribera del Duero, Spanish wine region, is located in northen Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive from Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back more than 2000 years, it was in the 1980s that 9 wineries applied for and were granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 300 wineries call Ribera del Duero home, including some of Spain’s most iconic names.
Notable Facts Ribera’s main grape variety, Tempranillo, locally know as Tinto Fino, is perfectly suited to the extreme climate of the region, where it must survive scorching summers and frigid winters. Low yields resulting from conscientious tending to old vines planted in Ribera’s diverse soils types, give Ribera wines a distinctive depth and complexity not found in other Tempranillos. Rich and full-bodied, the spice, dark fruit and smoky flavors in a bold Ribera del Duero will pair well with roasted and grilled meats, Mexican food and tomato-based sauces.