2001 Bodegas Uvaguilera Aguilera Palomero

Bodegas Uvaguilera was started in 1999 by Martiniano Palomero and Sebastian Cabrerizo. Palomero is a restaurant entrepreneur who owns more than 20 restaurants throughout Spain. Over the years he has bought interest in several Spanish wine producers, but Bodega Uvaguilera is his most ambitious project. The 25-acre estate is near the village of Aranda de Duero, and in addition to estate vineyards the Bodegas leases another 30 acres with vines averaging 70 years old. The estate makes the classic wines of the appellation, which are primarily Tempranillo. Wine Advocate has called wines from this estate “prodigious” with “great precision, fabulous concentration.”

Ribera del Duero is, in the words of wine writer Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, “the modern red wine miracle of northern Spain.” In 2012 Wine Enthusiast magazine named it the international wine region of the year. The appellation is a high, rocky plateau in north/central Spain that follows the Duero River for 60 miles before the river passes into Portugal, where it becomes the famous Douro River, then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 60,000 vineyard acres in the appellation and only red wines are produced under appellations regulations. Low rainfall, hot days, many hours of sunlight and harsh winters produce grapes of great depth and flavor. Ribera de Duero’s reputation owes much to Vega Sicilia, a 150-year old estate known both for its excellent traditional red wines and its willingness to innovate with the times. Tempranillo, known locally as Tinto Fino, is the dominant red grape in the appellation, and it is often blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or Merlot. The highly acclaimed Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez, world famous for its Tinto Pesquera, is also in Ribera del Duero. The appellation status was awarded in 1982.