Winemaker Notes
This wine pairs perfectly with venison, grilled steaks, asadillo, and migas.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This captures the aristocratic side of Ribera del Duero wine. It feels at once polished and on guard, ready to attack the next piece of meat with its velvet-gloved tannins. To understand how precise and elegant a Ribera can be, decant this tinto fino for the fresh, juicy impact of its cherry flavors and sweet spices.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Convento San Francisco is a blend of 92% Tempranillo and 8% Merlot with much of the Tempranillo sourced from old-vine (86-102 years of age) pre-phylloxera sites. It was aged for 12 months in French and American oak. Dark ruby-colored, it displays an enticing perfume of cedar, spice box, violets, mineral, and black cherry. Savory on the palate with good grip and balance, it has the structure to evolve for 2-3 years and should be at its best from 2012 to 2021.
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.