Winemaker Notes
Valbuena 5º 2014 is a concentrated and powerful vintage, but at the same time silky and deep.
Blend: 80% Tinto Fino, 20% Merlot & Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The ripeness is impressive here. A lot of work was done in the vineyard in 2014 to get yields right. It delivers darker fruit aromas and flavors, black cherries and plums, dark chocolate and licorice. The palate is deeply fleshy with rich blueberries, cassis and dark roasting herbs. Very deep-set, powerful black fruit with a deeper tannin texture. The power and freshness here is extraordinary. Deeply layered. Superb.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Valbuena, mostly Tempranillo with some 5% Merlot fermented by plot, making a selection from their 210 hectares of vineyards, and then matured in a combination of barriques and larger 20,000-liter oak vats. 2014 is a spectacular vintage of Valbuena, and it reminds me of the 2010, perhaps a tad more elegant and less powerful. It's expressive and has floral notes on the nose along with wild berries, herbs and a spicy and smoky touch that's nicely integrated. It has good complexity and nuance, and the palate is medium to full-bodied and intense, with pungent flavors and great length and persistence. Truly spectacular! 184,684 bottles, 5,578 magnums and some large formats produced. It was bottled in June 2016.
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Decanter
After 12 months in 70% French and 30% American barriques, this 2014 underwent a pre-blend prior to 16 months in large-format vats. The wine was then blended again before bottling. It's an excellent vintage: very expressive with echoes of fruit amid the cedar and smoke aromatics. The palate is plummy and powerful, driving through to a memorably long finish, with notes of peppery spice and underlying firm tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cuddly berry aromas include a hint of raisin. The palate echoes the nose, meaning this is full and ripe, with smooth tannins supporting raisiny softness. Cassis, exotic spice notes and baked berry flavors are lush on the finish. This seems ready for near-term drinking; enjoy now through 2030.
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Wine Spectator
This solid red delivers ripe fruit, toasty oak, lively acidity and well-integrated tannins. Currant and blackberry flavors mingle with espresso, black olive and loamy earth notes. Harmonious, in the modern style. Tinto Fino and Merlot.
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.