Winemaker Notes
The Tinto counterpart to the Clarete is a co-fermented blend of primarily Tempranillo with Albillo, Garnacha and Bobal. Despite its 12-20 months in French oak, it is bright, vibrant and aromatic. Fun and vibrant are usually not words associated with Ribera but it is certainly the case with the Pícaro Tinto.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very complex, light pink-berry aromas with baking spices, wild herbs and bright floral notes. The palate is musky and delicious with a really superb textural build and a smooth, fine and fresh blood-orange and strawberry finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The youngest of the released wines I tasted is a red—the 2016 Pícaro del Águila Tinto. It is from what they consider to be one of the best and freshest vintages in recent times. This is produced with the vines from the warmer parts of La Aguilera, a cold place to start with (and in a cooler year). The old vines are planted with a mix that is dominated by Tempranillo but also contains some 5% other grapes. All the grapes are picked and fermented together with full clusters and natural yeasts in concrete and stainless steel vats. It matured in oak barrels for 13 months. This is fragrant, expressive, open, aromatic and really attractive. The palate is really balanced, with great freshness, fine tannins and a very pleasant mouthfeel—supple, balanced and with great depth. This is the best version of this bottling so far, and it seems like 2016 could be a great overall vintage, based on some other wines I sampled from cask (many of them have an extended élevage).
Rating: 93+
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Wine & Spirits
Jorge Monzón comes from a family with old vines in the town of La Aguilera. After working in Burgundy and Ribera del Duero, he founded this winery in 2010, renovating a 17th-century cellar, where he foot-treads whole bunches of his organically farmed grapes, mostly tempranillo interplanted with blanca del país, garnacha and bobal. Pícaro is his village wine, an intriguing contrast of rustic and polished, ancient and modern. There’s a floral scent of fresh grapes, and a sweet fruit character of blueberries even though the wine is not sweet. Lasting on deep, saturated, waxy fruit-skin tannins, this is tarry and spicy, needing bottle age to mellow and integrate.
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.