A cool-blooded red wine to be discovered and enjoyed.
Ribera del Duero is one of those wines which you’ve never heard of, but once you’ve tried it you can’t get enough. It’s made in Spain with Tempranillo, the same grape as Rioja, but is grown in vineyards with a bit of altitude. Making it fresher tasting with less of that vanilla smoothness you get in Rioja, resulting in a more Malbec-like style. The area it comes from is young compared to most winemaking, and the name only dates back to the 90s so there’s not much history here, instead you get a ‘modern’ wine, full of really vibrant berry flavours and a nice mix of tannin and smoothness. Because it’s not the biggest area the wines don’t tend to be that cheap, so they aren’t party wines, better to be shared amongst a few selective friends or to order when you need to impress.
Things you should know
