A Spanish Revolution

From the December 1997 Wine Editorial

The Duero River has its source in the mountains northwest of Madrid. On its way to becoming the Douro of Portugal - the home of Porto - it passes through rugged, dauntingly desolate country - with short, dry, blisteringly hot summers, and bitterly cold, windy winters.

The Ribera region of the Duero has been the unlikely home of Spain's most famous wine, Vega Sicilia, for over 130 years. But, until the late seventies it was the only wine of any significance produced in the region. Vega Sicilia is modeled on Bordeaux wine-making of the 1860's, using Cabernet grapes, producing legendary wine which I have never tasted.

The Pesquera wines of Alejandro Fernadez achieved world recognition in the early eighties when Ribera del Duero was defined as a Denominacion de Origin. In recent years a flood of very good wines has been appearing in the market - the Ribera del Duero revolution is in full swing.

In contrast to Vega Sicilia's use of Cabernet, Tinto Fino, a local clone of the ubiquitous Tempranillo, is the preferred grape of the new producers.

We have had Ribera del Duero wines in the store for years-starting with the 1985 Pesquera. But over the years the trickle has become a flood of superb wines that are very, very affordable.

One taste is worth a thousand reviews and so I urge you to splurge - spend $14 on a bottle of Balbas '94 Crianza. Take it home, pop the cork and enjoy a silky smooth, tasty wine that will blow you away.

That is not all, buy all three Vina Mayor wines, the Tinto ($5⁹⁹), the Crianza ($9⁹⁹) and the '91 Riserva $15⁹⁹ You'll love them!

And, then try the Fuentespina '96 Tinto- you won't believe that this wine is less than 1 year old and cost only $7⁹⁹ - and the Fuentespina '94 Crianza, for $11⁹⁹, has the style and depth of a $25 Bordeaux - I kid you not!

Finally I must tell you about Teofilo Reyes. I had no idea what it was or where it came from, but my first sip at a tasting in October 1996 hit the sweet spot of my palate. Lights flashed and bells rang. Bought every case of the '94 Teofilo Reyes I could get. It is not inexpensive at $34.99 a bottle, but it is worth every penny. It is richly layered with fruit and soft tannins - endless and exquisite. Now have the '95 and '96 in stock.