Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This Gran Reserva defines Pérez Pascuas style. It’s an elegant Ribera del Duero, its red cherry flavors melding with firm tannins and an acidity that emphasizes the overall freshness of the wine, supporting the verticality in its structure. Deliciously herbal, with soft touches of cinnamon, this wine might tempt you to commit infanticide and drink it tonight with roast game. But a decade from now, the wine will just begin to live its best years; it’s a classic that will reward patient cellaring.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Viña Pedrosa Gran Reserva also contains 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and matured in oak barrels for two years, but was sourced from older vines and from a very warm and ripe vintage. This was produced with grapes from 60-year-old vines and yields of little more than 20 hectoliters per hectare. 2011 was a very warm vintage and when they harvested on September 26th, the challenge was to keep the freshness. This is a vintage that is completely the opposite of what suits their style, yet they managed to maintain the poise, alcohol and freshness. In a year like that, in three days the alcohol can increase 0.5 degrees. They also have the advantage that all their vineyard are in a radius of five kilometers from their winery in Pedrosa de Duero, one of the highest villages in the Ribera del Duero, with vineyards reaching 900 meters altitude. Only 4,230 bottles were filled in January 2014.
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.