Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This deep-garnet-colored wine has aromas of cassis, cocoa powder and a touch of baking spice. Luxurious tannins backdrop the blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate and black olive flavors, with a hint of dried herbes de Provence that persists into the enduring finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the flagships here, the 2019 Malabrigo is all Tempranillo aged 18 months in oak. Deep purple/plum-hued with a beautiful nose of red plums, darker berries, spicy oak, graphite, and chalky minerality, it's balanced and medium-bodied, with a focused, elegant mouthfeel and ripe tannins.
-
James Suckling
A full-bodied, firm red with roasted herbs, bay leaves, soy, coconut and black fruit on the nose. Meaty and toasty, with plenty of spice to the fleshy black fruit. Excellent length. Tempranillo. Drink from 2024.
-
Wine Spectator
A fresh, fragrant red, with lovely notes of cigar box spices and cured tobacco on the nose accenting baked blackberry and black plum fruit, dark chocolate and herbed olive on the palate. Reveals hints of minerally iron and graphite that add savory depth and complexity, while sculpted tannins emerge to firm the finish. Drink now through 2029.
-
Wine & Spirits
This is a selection from a vineyard in Castrillo de Duero, offering perfumed red fruit and briny, fruit-skin tannins, hinting at black olives. Those lovely fruit tannins last, weighed down by French oak tannins for now, needing bottle age to work past its waxy oak.
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
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.