Delightful tasting of Monteabellon wine from Ribera del Duero today, guided by the family winery’s export manager Liola Hernaez Iruzubieta

The setting for the tasting was the highly regarded Spanish restaurant Boqueria.

Ribera del Duero has earned an excellent reputation for its wines made from the Tempranillo grape.

The family behind Monteabellon initially gained fame with the high-quality grapes from their high-altitude vineyards. Now, after three generations, they make a wide variety of wines (different altitudes, different methods of maturation) for the domestic and international market.

Verdejo 2021

The tasting began with this elegant white wine from vineyards in the Rueda region. Light and elegant, this is a perfect pairing with fish and salads. Unoaked and vibrant.

Avaniel Tinto 2021

This young red Tempranillo wine offers freshness and fruit, perfect for a summer lunch or to pair with ham and cheese.

Monteabellon 2020 (5 Months)

Aged for 5 months in a mix of previously used French and American oak, this Tempranillo wine offers a touch of oak to round out the rich black fruit aromas and flavors.

Monteabellon 2019 (14 Months)

The additional aging of this wine, in a mix of new American oak and second use French oak, paves the way for a delicious wine with vibrant acidity and a firm structure that can pair with many different types of cuisine.

Monteabellon Finca Matambres 2017

Well rounded and elegant, this Tempranillo wine comes from one of the highest single vineyards. This accounts for its high refreshing acidity. It matures for 20 months in a mix of 80% French oak and 20% American.

Monteabellon Finca La Blanquera 2017

This iconic wine can rival the best wines from any premier region in the world. Rich and dense with fruit, its lifted with vibrant acidity because the grapes come from the premium high altitude single vineyard. The wine is best enjoyed with meat like steak, and can improve with at least a decade of bottle age.

A great experience to learn about these premium wines and meet the vibrant Liola, an excellent ambassador of the family winery.

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Ribera del Duero Red Wine

When it comes to Spanish red wine, most wine lovers recognize the Rioja region of Spain.

The reason is partly historic. Initially, sea-faring Phoenicians sailing up the Ebro River enjoyed the wine of the Rioja region.

A few centuries later, the wine was exported to ancient Rome, where it achieved wider fame.

So it is understandable that Ribera del Duero red wine is a more recent addition to famous, long-lived Spanish wine.

 Ribera del Duero Red Wine Vs. Rioja

First it is important to discuss the similarities between Ribera del Duero red wine  and Rioja in terms of Spanish Red Wine.

Here is What Ribera del Duero Red Wine and Rioja Have in Common:

– both are Tempranillo based
– both comprise Spain’s most age-worthy wines
– at the higher quality levels (above Crianza) both wines are aged in oak

Though they are both Tempranillo-based, the wines have a very different taste profile and structure.

This is partly for the following reasons:

• Rioja red wine is almost always a blended product, with common blending partners being Grenache, Mazuelo, and Graciano.- In the past, Rioja was almost always aged for very long periods in American oak.

Increasingly, a blend of French and American oak is used with the exclusive use of French oak being even more common.

In contrast:

• Ribera del Duero red wine vineyards are at a much higher elevation, giving the wines higher, more refreshing acidity.

• While some Ribera del Duero red wine is 100% Tempranillo, others are blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot.

• Ribera del Duero red wine is almost always aged in French oak, much of it first use.

Comparing the two Tempranillo-based wines

A blind tasting of Ribera del Duero red wine and Rioja is challenging, because so much of it is producer-driven.

That said, on examinations given by the Masters of Wine – and other educational programs – the organizers seek to find “typical examples.”

[socialpug_tweet tweet=”This means that if Rioja red wine and a Ribera del Duero red wine are put on the exam, they would find the most typical specimens of each.” display_tweet=””]

Typically, this means that the Rioja wine would have the traditional characteristics such as American – rather than French – oak.

In the past, traditional Rioja aged for many years in barrel.

Some tasters, when speaking of traditional Rioja wines, also report qualities of leather, rawhide, and horsehide.

Because of all the oak maturation, it’s also difficult to discern an actual fruit character in a traditional Rioja – though strawberries come to mind.

The Contrast

In contrast to the traditional style of Rioja with its marked character of American oak, today’s wine examiners might contrast it in a blind tasting with the “modern” style of Ribera del Duero.

In the last 20 years high-end Ribera del Duero red wine producers have been stepping up their game.

To take advantage of their high elevation vineyards and special terroir, they have been lavish with the use of new French oak.

Though a mix of first, second, and third use French oak is typically used, some wineries use 100% new French oak.

[socialpug_tweet tweet=”The use of the more discreet French oak, with its subtle aromas of toast and spice, gives the resulting wine a firm structure and smooths the tannins to a velvet texture.” display_tweet=””]

The addition of Cabernet Sauvignon as a blending component in a Ribera del Duero wine imparts an even firmer structure.

This also gives the wine a more black-fruit quality, as opposed to the red-fruit strawberry flavors of Rioja.

Spanish Red Wine: Rioja Vs. Ribera del Duero

The best way to discern the differences between these two wines is to procure a bottle of each.

Pay a personal visit to a wine store you know and trust, and tell the manager or clerk you want to try these two wines.

You will want to compare the same, or a similar vintage.

It’s very possible that the Ribera del Duero wine may be more expensive, even dramatically so.

This is because fashion has turned the tide.

Today the more limited production of Ribera del Duero wine, the liberal use of expensive French oak, and the plethora of boutique wineries in the region have made the wines expensive and hard to find.

When you are ready for the taste test, find two identical glasses and be certain that the wines are at the same serving temperature.

Checklists for Rioja and Ribera Del Duero Red Wine

1. The color

The Ribera del Duero wine is more likely a much darker color compared to Rioja. It could even be black compared to the red-brown color of a Rioja.

2. The aroma

Chances are the Rioja wine will have aromas of strawberry, as well as dill and a sawdust character from American oak. You will smell the wood.

In contrast, the Ribera del Duero wine will have aromas of black fruit like blackberries and black cherries. You will also detect some vanilla notes from the French oak.

3. The taste and mouthfeel

The Rioja wine might taste of strawberry and dusty oak. The tannins might have a corduroy quality – which is to say slightly rough.

The Ribera del Duero wine will likely taste of blackberry, and black currant. You will sense the refreshing high acidity.

The tannin profile is more like satin or velvet, and the wine will have a firmer structure and longer length of finish.

Every producer and vintage is different, so your results may vary.

Yet this is an important comparison to make if you want to discover the true difference between these two popular Spanish wine regions.

Visit to Valdubon : Ribera del Duero Red Wine Winery

Below is a report from a 2015 visit to Valdubon, a Ribera del Duero.

Dark-eyed winemaker Javier Aladro welcomes me to the winery with a smile.

We are standing in the vat room of the compact, efficient winery in Ribera del Duero.

Workers all around us busily prepare for the harvest. At Javier’s side is energetic Andrea Sanz, assistant winemaker.

The Freixenet & Ferrer Family Connection

At the time, the winery was one of the newer jewels in the crown of Freixenet, the famous Spanish sparkling wine (Cava) company.

In recent years the Ferrer family has been buying many prestigious properties in Spain.

Peter Ferrer Bosch and his wife established the dynasty more than a century ago in Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, about an hour from Barcelona.

The Valdubon Philosophy

Javier and Andrea lead me around the property. They explain the Ferrer family philosophy.

This is to craft wines unique to the place they grow. And also  respect the local winegrowing practices.

At Valdubon, Javier must adhere to the region’s demand that 85% of the blend be Tempranillo.

But a nod to both modern times – and to the success of neighboring high-end Vega Sicilia – Valdubon can add international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and Garnacha in varying amounts.

Vat Room Secrets

A chemist by training, Javiar is constantly experimenting.

In the vat room he shows me one of the secrets of his blend.

The main secret consists of fermenting the grapes in distinct ways.

Some grapes are put in a stainless steel vat with automated punch downs five times an hour. This gives the wine a deeper color and structure.

The problem with this method is that it does not bring out the aroma.

So this means they put other grapes in a stainless steel vat. This serves to close off all oxygen and give the blend a very good aroma.

Eventually the grapes in the vats, once combined, age in barrique.

The Ribera del Duero Red Wine Soil

The soil here is clay and sand.

The method of vine training is Double Cordon for vines under twenty years of age.

Older vines experience traditional bush / goblet training.

The reason is that the bush vines are low to the ground, so the roots can reach water more easily.

This method also protects them from the hot, dry sun.

As it rarely rains, the branches need not be raised so air can circulate.

What gives the wine its special character is the diurnal temperature between the very sunny and warm days and very cool nights.

Frost can be an issue here, even in summer, and hail.

The Ribera del Duero Red Wine Harvest

The grapes are hand harvested by the local families who grow the grapes under Javiar’s instruction, with the grapes from the older vines destined for aging, and the young vines (Joven) made for early consumption.

These grapes ferment for about twenty days at temperatures 18 – 20 C (60 – 68 F) with select yeast taken from the vineyard but improved in the laboratory to make for a certain fermentation.

During the tasting that followed, this wine, 2009 Valdubon Cosecha, was light and somewhat fruity, with outstanding balance and fruit.

It ferments the older vines at warmer temperatures 25 – 28 (82 – 84) for 25 – 28 days, resulting in a more pronounced color.

Aged to be Crianza and Reserva, these wines at the tasting were deeply colored and full-bodied, with a balance of ripe fruit, licorice, vanilla, and coconut from the extended aging.

In contrast to most other Ribera del Duero producers, wine is aged here in 75% American oak, 25% French, for up to three years for Crianza and five for Reserva (a mix of time spent in oak and bottle).

The Ribera del Duero red wine from Valdubon is delicious and Javiar Aladro is proud of his work in the vineyard and is carrying out the Ferrer family’s goal of creating truly terroir-driven wine.

Here’s a video of the Ribera del Duero region from the Guild of Sommeliers

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About Author Marisa D’Vari

D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.

She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator  through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio

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