[ Ribera del Duero – Spain ]
www.BodegasValduero.com
Reviews & Tasting Notes
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[ Story: ]
Bodegas Valduero is an important and historic winery located in the centre of the best winegrowing terroir of Spain’s Ribera del Duero. Founded in the early 1980s by Gregorio García Álvarez, Bodegas Valduero was amongst the first half dozen wineries to be created in this now famous winegrowing region. A deep and abiding respect for tradition and the importance of the Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo) grape are at the heart of this historic family winery’s approach to crafting incredible vinous treasures. Today, Yolanda García Viadero – daughter of the original founder – acts as winemaker, placing a central emphasis on the importance of aging in the production of the wines here at Bodegas Valduero.
In Spain, regulations around labeling and naming of wines emphasize aging – both the length of time wines spend in barrel as well as time spent in bottle before their release to market. Here at Bodegas Valduero, top cuvees at both Reserva and Gran Reserva levels far exceed the minimum aging requirements set out by law. The acidity and tannins in the red wines of Ribera del Duero demand extended aging to soften and integrate before offering the sublime complexity, intensity and smoothness which are hallmarks of this appellation’s best reds.
The commitment to proper aging treatments of wines at Bodegas Valduero goes far beyond simply holding wines back longer than their competition. For the first 5 years after the original inception of this winery, production was carried out in a small cellars in the village of Gumiel de Mercado, however in the late 1980s cellars at a neighbouring winery in the same village came up for sale. These historic wine caves were carved deep into the earth – ranging between 20 and 50 metres below ground. Bodegas Valduero undertook a painstaking and expensive renovation and restoration of these caves, which today are home to Valduero’s barrel aging cellars and hold more than 1,000 barrels at any given point in time.