Winemaker Notes
A clean, bright wine, intense garnet in color, sharply edged in violet. On the nose there are intense, vibrant aromas of fresh red fruits. It is complex, with the presence of cocoa blended with spices and well-integrated toasted notes. On the palate it has balance, structure and volume with polished, balance tannins and the natural acidity of a high-altitude wine. There are retronasal touches of blue flowers, with a long aftertaste offering gentle toasted and licorice notes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A full-bodied red, with toasty hints of coffee, vanilla and smoke lacing rich flavors of baked black raspberry and boysenberry fruit, while accents of cigar box, bay leaf and iron provide a savory counterpoint. Plush and modern in style, fresh and focused throughout, with chewy tannins firming the spiced finish. Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The bright ruby colored 2019 Viña Magna Crianza is a modern Ribera del Duero with good ripeness and generous oak without excess, coming through as juicy and spicy, quite approachable and easy to understand by a wide audience looking for this clean and modern style of Ribera. It's a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec that gives it a somewhat international and commercial style. It has a surprisingly high alcoholic degree at 15.5%. It's juicy and heady and develops notes of vanilla, cinnamon, dark chocolate and espresso coffee with time in the glass. 65,231 bottles and 601 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2021 after 14 months in French oak barrels.
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Wine Enthusiast
Deep-ruby in color, this wine has a bouquet of cassis, Mission fig and anisette. It is smooth at first sip, offering polished tannins, pleasing acidity and black-currant, cherry, coffee-bean, dark-chocolate and clove flavors that linger on the palate.
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James Suckling
Rich but fruity nose with plenty of blackberries, stones, dark cherries, sweet spices and a hint of mocha. Quite firm and chewy on the full-bodied, fruity palate.
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.