Winemaker Notes
Deep red color and intense on the nose, with oak and black fruit aromas. On the palate its powerful and persistent, but at the same time balanced with fresh tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The single-vineyard Tempranillo 2015 Malleolus de Sancho Martín fermented with their own strain of yeasts and matured in French oak barrels where it underwent malolactic and 18 months élevage. This is always more expressive than the Valderramiro; it's oaky but there is a different style of oaking, or the wine takes the oak differently. It's more aromatic and nuanced, with hints of graphite and tar and flowers, with more complexity and a gentler mouthfeel. There are plenty of grainy tannins, concentration and power, and it should develop nicely in bottle. It follows the style of the ripe and powerful 2015, a year that delivered tannic wines. 2,875 bottles were filled in August 2018.
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Wine Enthusiast
Heavily charred aromas of wood smoke and campfire dominate a nose with base-level berry fruit scents. Size and power are plastered all over the palate of this woody, tannic warm-vintage Ribera, which tastes of smoky blackberry and tobacco. A note of vanilla softens a hard-driving finish. Drink 2025-2045.
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Wine Spectator
This generous red has thick, polished tannins that surround the cherry reduction, coffee and orange peel flavors, underscored with loamy earth, leather and spice notes. Powerful and refined. Drink now through 2030.
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Wine & Spirits
Sanchomartín is a 2.5-acre parcel the Moro family planted in Pesquera de Duero using a selection from their oldest vineyards. Its clay-and-limestone soils delivered a supple, superripe 2015, the wine’s heady richness held in focus by the green peppercorn spice. Tight and young, this will be more approachable with five years of age.
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.