WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING RIBERA DEL DUERO WINE

 

1. HISTORY OF RIBERA DEL DUERO WINE

The cultivation of the vine and the techniques of elaboration of the wine arrived at the Spanish Mediterranean coast through the Phoenician merchants. Centuries later, it would be the Romans who, introduced the wine production in other regions of the peninsular interior like the one now known as Ribera del Duero. This Roman presence is supported by the discovery in the area of various mosaics with motifs related to wine, such as those found in Baños de Valdearados.

During the Late Middle Ages, wine culture develops around monasteries, very numerous in the region. From the thirteenth century, wine became the most important economic development factor in the area. This led to the need to start regulating the harvesting and winemaking, a trend that continued and increased during the Centuries later, although still a rather rustic wine.

In 1864, Eloy Lecanda Chavés installed on the banks of the Duero the winery Vega Sicillia. In it, from varieties imported from Bordeaux and through the application of French methods, managed to produce a broth of extraordinary quality and with a prestige that maintains its validity today.

At the end of the XIX the phylloxera arrives at Ribera del Duero, causing a serious economic crisis of which it took several years to leave. Since 1975, several winemakers and winemakers in the area begin to talk about the potential of their wines and, thanks to their pressures and initiatives to boost the vineyards and the quality of Ribera del Duero wine. In 1982 obtained the recognition of Denomination of Origin (DO). Since then, the application of new production practices, more advanced technologies and rigorous control methods applied by the Regulatory Council have made Ribera del Duero a synonym for international quality.

 

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF RIBERA DEL DUERO WINE

2.1. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

The Ribera del Duero is a natural region located on both sides of the Douro River at its highest point, southeast of Castilla y León, at an altitude of 7501,000 meters. The terrain is generally undulated, formed by clayey tertiary sediments, although we also find calcareous areas. The area covered by the Regulatory Council covers more than 100 municipalities dispersed between the provinces of Valladolid, Burgos, Segovia and Soria.

The climate is continental, with extreme temperatures ranging from very cold winters to hot summers, with sudden drops in temperature at night, allowing strains to cool. Precipitations are moderate or scarce: it rains between 75 and 90 days a year, especially in spring and autumn.

Side. Ribera del Duero has a privileged combination of land, climate and grapes that allows it to produce magnificent and complex red wines.

 

2.2. TYPES OF GRAPES

The main variety in D. Ribera del Duero is Tempranillo, also called Tinto Fino, or Ink of the Country, present in more than 90% of the vineyard. It is a perfectly adapted variety with which elegant and well structured wines are produced.

The Regulatory Board allows other varieties to the Ribera del Duero cellars: inks such as Merlot, Malbec, CabernetSauvignon, Garnacha Tinta, also known as Tinta Aragonesa, which is mainly used for the processing of rosés. The only authorized white is the Albillo, used in some phases of the wine production.

 

2.3 TYPES OF RIBERA DE DUERO WINES

There are some types of Ribera del Duero Wine:

– Rosé wine: they carry a minimum of 50% of authorized grape varieties. They are marketed shortly after the harvest. They are wines with fruity and fresh taste. The color is very weak cherry pink, with shades pink strawberry.

Red wines: these are the best Ribera del Duero wines. They are made with a minimum of 75% Tempranillo that brings color, aroma and body to these wines. They are classified in:

– Young Red Wine: without aging in barrel or with a passage through a barrel of less than 12 months. It is marketed a few months after the harvest. It has a cherry red color.

– Red Wine Aging: Aging not less than 24 months, 12 of them in oak barrels. It is marketed after October 1 of the second year after the harvest. Intense cherry color towards cherry red with violet hues.

– Red Wine Reserve: Aging of 36 months between barrel and bottle, of which there must be a minimum of 12 months in oak barrels. It is marketed after October 1 of the third year after the harvest. The color goes from cherry red to ruby red.

– Red Wine Gran Reserva: It is a wine of exceptional quality, with a minimum aging of 60 months, of which at least 24 months in oak barrels and the rest in bottle. They reach the market after October 1 of the fifth year after the harvest. It has a cherry red color.