Winemaker Notes
Deep cherry red color with violet hues. Elegant wine, with a good aromatic range and great complexity, where an exclusive French oak wood is perfectly assembled with black fruit of excellent maturation. Tasty, broad, powerful, but with a fine and elegant tannin, very expressive, with the nerve that gives it the acidity of these vines grown on very poor soils. Long, pleasant and persistent finish where the toasted touch stands out. It will have a long life due to its structure and good noble tannin-acidity balance.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Protos Selección Finca El Grajo Viejo is 100% Tempranillo from old-vine parcels in Anguix, Roa and Manvirgo. It was aged about 18 months in oak. Balsamic character and intense black fruit—blackberry and plum—define the nose, while the profile is deep and complex. Structure and concentration shape a compact palate with juicy, fine-grained tannins. A finely balanced expression of Ribera.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2021 Protos Seleccion Finca El Grajo Viejo is an awesome wine with power and style. This wine offers aromas and flavors of aromatic spices, damp drywall, and enticing chalk. Try it with dry-rubbed, grilled baby back ribs. (Tasted: February 22, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
Loads of character and expressiveness in this single-vineyard bottling hailing from a 70-year-old plot planted at 815 metres. Fragrant sage and basil play against broody tobacco and cherry leaves. Dark chocolate and liquorice root anchor the dense palate, with mineral wet-stine freshness for balance. Fine but really spicy tannins linger in the mouth with vivid nutmeg, cinnamon and pink pepper. a great companion for merguez sausages with lentils and mustard.
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James Suckling
This is quite bold and youthful at this stage, as the notes of coffee and spices are not yet integrated with the ripe fruit, which is slightly baked. The notes of cherry liqueur, violets, dried herbs, peppercorns, minerals and bramble berries will open up with more time in the glass. Full-bodied and very chewy on the palate, but the tannins are really open-grained and tightly wound. Vertical, powerful and long, with a slightly warming finish. This needs at least four more years, but there is potential. A bit more freshness and precision would take it to the next level.
The history of Protos dates back to 1927, when 11 viticulturists established the “Ribera del Duero” winery, with an avantgarde vision of preparing quality wines under one brand. Over ninety years later, this spirit still lives on and continues growing year upon year. At Protos, we take pride in our roots, using only our native varieties, Tempranillo and Verdejo, and in 1982, allowing our brand “Ribera del Duero” to be used for the recently established Ribera del Duero Denomination of Origin.
Genuine commitment to quality, controlled vineyards, limited yields, manual harvest, barrel aging and a rigorous control of the entire elaboration process, give our wines global prestige.
This commitment to quality is demonstrated through the brand’s ongoing reinvestment in research and betterment of their vineyards & wineries. This eagerness to keep evolving and adapting the wines with the outmost respect to the land, have ensured Protos as one of the most well-known and reliable brands by consumers the world over.
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.