2011 Ribera del Duero Reserva

The 2011 Reserva is produced from their cooler vineyards grown at altitudes of 800-900 meters, from an assortment of small plots planted before the 1930s. The Tempranillo is mixed with other grapes totaling almost 10% in this vintage, half of it white Albillo and a significant amount of Bobal among others. They selected the grapes from the plots they thought would provide more freshness, especially in a warm year like 2011. The full-clusters fermented in open stainless steel pools where they are foot-trodden. The wine is transferred to barriques and put in the cold cellars where they age slowly and go through malolactic the following spring. This is a serious wine where the aromas are subtle and more soil-driven and austere, slowly revealing notes of violets and damson cherries with great depth. The palate is medium-bodied, with refined, silky and fine-grained tannins and a superb sensation of harmony. This is really outstanding for a year such as 2011. The 4,000 bottles produced were filled in May 2014. Drink 2015-2020. Jorge Monzon Pascual is the name behind Dominio del Aguila. He has an impressive CV, as he spent two years at the Domaine de la Romanee Conti while studying in France, one year in Vega Sicilia where he was working on the white wine project that was aborted, and nine years as technical director of Arzuaga Navarro where the has given the wines a new life within the style of the house. He has built the domaine the traditional way, giving absolute priority to the vineyards: he has slowly through the years purchased small plots of old head-pruned vineyards in his village of La Aguilera close to Aranda de Duero, 30 hectares in total. All the reds are whole-cluster fermented, mostly foot-trodden and with very late malolactic when the wine is in barrels. The aging is slow and long, as he has cold underground natural cellars where the evolution is at a glacial pace. This is a really exciting new project in Ribera del Duero, where things are done with no rush and following the traditions of yesteryear. The wines are fresh, powerful, true to their place of birth, powerful yet elegant, unique and are about to come into the market. Initial quantities are small as he sells most of the grapes. No known American importer.