Abadia Retuerta - Pago Negralada Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon 2016

The Abbey of Santa María de Retuerta, founded in 1146, has been reimagined as one of Spain’s most sumptuous hotels. Set on a 700-hectare estate in Sardón de Duero (a couple of hours from Madrid), the late-Romanesque and Gothic style monastery was once the national headquarters of the Premonstratensian Order and has been declared an official Site of Cultural Interest. Now, its chapel, cloisters, chapter house, refectory, stables and more house a five-star hotel complex (including Michelin-starred restaurant) and winery.

A centuries-old winemaking heritage was revived in 1988 when Abadía Retuerta was bought by current owners, the Novartis Group. One of Spain’s first fully gravitational wineries, the technologically advanced facilities were designed by French consultant Pascal Delbeck, who worked with oenologist and head winemaker Ángel Anocíbar to replant the vines and instigate meticulous soil analysis, which guides everything they do.

Despite its sprawling scale, vineyards only cover 192 hectares of the estate’s best soils, split into 54 small plots (‘pagos’) along the banks of the Douro River. The majority is planted to Tempranillo, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and small amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot. White varieties including Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo make a surprisingly age-worthy blend.

Pago Negralada represents the purity of a Tempranillo from the Duero Valley. A wine of race and character that reflects faithfully the terroir from which it comes» confesses our winemaker Ángel Anocíbar.

This wine obtained several international awards and recognitions in the most prestigious wine tasting events. With its great ageing potential, this is a wine for the long haul, a wine with its roots firmly in the past and its sights set on future triumphs.

Once the grapes have been selected, the next step is the winemaking process, which at Abadía Retuerta is carried out by gravity, transporting the grapes with ovis to fill the vats. Alcoholic fermentation has been carried out by a yeast selected from the terroir for more than 25 years. Both the pumping over and the movement of the wines are done without pumping over, using the ovis. After tasting and blending, the wines are aged in the subway cellar. After aging for 12 and 24 months, the wines are bottled after clarification with egg white.

"The library release of the 2016 Pago Negralada also achieved 15% alcohol. This was a very fine vintage produced with healthy and ripe grapes. The wine matured for 17 months in French oak barrels, 66% of them new. I think the Tempranillo is aging more gracefully than their Cabernet. This has an aromatic profile of sweet Tempranillo fruit, with notes of cherries in liqueur and Mediterranean herbs, sleek and polished, holding it but fully mature for now. It will probably stay on a plateau for a while." - 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Producer: Abadia Retuerta 

Country: Spain

Region: Castilla y León

Varietal: Tempranillo

Appellation: Abadia Retuerta

Vintage: 2016

Size: 750ml