Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Plenty of blueberry and plum-cake character. Ripe and generous with full, but quite supple tannins for a young Ribera del Duero red. Keeps pumping out the ripe flavors on the fresh and intense finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Mildly gritty blackberry and cassis aromas are lightly charred and a touch fiery. A fully saturated palate is at max weight, while this tastes primarily of blackberry and chocolaty oak. Considering that this is Moro’s basic RDD, with some 70,000 cases bottled, it’s exemplary. Drink through 2025.
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Wine Spectator
I also tasted the 2016 Emilio Moro, from a cooler year with higher yields. For this label, they select grapes from vines ranging between 15 and 25 years of age, as the range here is (mostly) defined by vine age. It fermented in stainless steel and matured in French and American oak barrels for one year before bottling. I found it fresher than the 2015, and it kept its juicy and fruit-driven profile. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine-grained tannins. It would be phenomenal with a little more acidity.
Range:90-91
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.