Dominio del Águila - Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva 'Peñas Aladas' 2014

As a young student of oenology, Jorge Monzón traveled to Burgundy and despite not speaking a word of French nor having any recommendations let alone experience, he convinced Domaine La Romanée-Conti to take him on as an intern. His eagerness and desire to learn led him to shadowing maître de chai, Bernard Noblet, observing all the steps he took to create the famed wines of this historic Domaine.

Returning to Ribera del Duero, and his hometown of La Aguilera, Jorge worked a couple of years at Vega Sicilia before becoming technical director at Arzuaga-Navarro. While working for others, Jorge began purchasing old vineyards around La Aguilera – parcels in danger of being ripped up and replaced with more productive clones of Tempranillo as well as “fashionable” Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. These undesirable vineyards were ancient, unproductive massale selections of Tempranillo mixed with a diverse range of other varieties including a high proportion of white grapes – all “useless” in a region that prized extraction, production and the “ameliorating” contribution made by international varieties.

Together with his wife, Isabel Rodero, Jorge founded Dominio del Águila in 2010. Farming is certified organic and Isabel, who is an architect, supervised the renovation of three ancient cellars dating to the 15th century dug deep into the bedrock under the village. Natural yeast, whole cluster co-fermentations are the first step in the process with pigeage done by foot. After primary fermentation the wines are placed in oak barrels for aging in their cold, subterranean cellars ensure that the evolution of their wines proceeds slowly.

Peña Aladas, or winged stones, refers to a tiny group of small, rocky vineyard plots well over 100 years old in age and surrounded by pine forests. Like old vineyards elsewhere in Spain, there is a mix of grape varieties. About 85% is planted to Tempranillo with the remainder a mix of Cariñena, Bruñal, Bobal, Albillo, Garnacha and others. These sites are picked by hand, and the fruit sees a natural yeast, co-fermentation in tank before racking into French oak barrels for 51 months of aging in the deep and cold cellars of Dominio del Águila.

"The Gran Reserva from 2014 had also been bottled for over one year when I tasted the wines, so I included the 2014 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva in this report, although the wine might take some time to reach the market. This is a rare wine, matured in oak barrels for 45 months and produced in limited quantities in a painfully slow process to create a wine with very high aging potential that, even when released some five or six years after the harvest, feels too young and a little raw. It feels a lot gentler and approachable than the 2013 I tasted next to it; it's more aromatic and expressive, complex and at the same time easy to understand. The palate is also approachable and tender, with very develop beautifully in bottle, and the Ribera character, which is there, should be even more evident with a little more time. 3,051 bottles and 43 magnums were filled unfined and unfiltered by hand in June 2018." - 96 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“Rich aromas of baked blueberries, dried violets, pine cone, clove, vanilla, chocolate and praline. It’s full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins. Rich and polished with layers of spiced blue fruit and flowers. Yet, it remains vivid and elegant with juicy tannins. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.” - 96 Points, James Suckling

Producer: Dominio del Águila

Country: Spain

Region: Castilla y León

Varietal: Tempranillo, Albillo, Garnacha, Bobal

Appellation: Ribera del Duero

Vintage: 2014

Size: 750ml