Ribera del Duero

A noticeable characteristic of Ribera del Duero in June is how cool it is, especially at night. At these altitudes, getting grapes to ripen fully is a challenge for even the most skilled vigneron. There are only about 125 days during the year - roughly from the first week of June to the last week of September - when growers can be sure that there will not be a frost to destroy their livelihoods. This means that vines must be rugged and vigorous, that vineyards must be kept spotlessly clear of weeds and vine diseases, and that grapes must be harvested in perfect health, dry, and fully ripe - ideally the day before the first autumn frost.

All of which is, of course, much more easily said than done. However, when a combination of meticulous attention to detail and consummate skill in the vineyard (coupled with good luck in the meteorological department) allows the average grower to get it right, the resulting grapes are likely to be of the very finest quality grown anywhere in Spain.

The other factor contributing to the quality of grapes in Ribera del Duero is the region's altitude. Vineyards may be planted at heights of up to 850 metres (2,789 feet), although most are positioned at levels of between 750 and 800 metres (2,461 and 2,625 feet) on either side of the river Duero. In high summer, daytime temperatures may reach 39 to 40"C (l00 to 104"F), but this is followed by a big temperature drop during the night as much as fifteen or twenty degrees - hence the danger of frosts at the beginning and end of the season.

Strange as it may seem, the vines actually benefit from this temperature change, because It allows them to "sleep" or remain dormant at night.  In hotter regions during the ripening season, vines draw nutrients from the soil to keep them going twenty-four hours a day. In Ribera del Duero, however, the vine quite literally ‘chills out’ overnight . When the sun comes up, the nutrients it would have consumed are still in the soil, wailing to be passed on to where they really need to be: inside the grapes themselves.

Today, the DO zone is centred around the town of Aranda de Duero in the province of Burgos, with parts of it in the Soria province to the east and Valladolid to the west. There are also some vineyards (but no bodegas) in the northern part of the province of Segovia.

The important thing to remember about Ribera del Duero, however, is that these are not, and never will be, cheap wines. Vineyard husbandry in this alpine climate demands absolute cleanliness, weed-free plantations, and dry, healthy, fully ripe grapes. Winemaking is as natural and as hands-off as possible, conducted in gravity-fed tanks with no pressing of the grapes and with only the ripest free-run juice being allowed into the final selection. As a result, these wines have a bold, bright character. In good years, the best of them will be ‘Jovenes’ packed with fruit and mouth-wateringly crisp. In very good years, a little ‘crianza’ in mixed American and French oak yields that delicious ‘third-dimension’ of vanilla and spice. In excellent years, the wines may aspire to ‘reserva’ status with the glorious fruit, richness, length, and maturity. ‘Gran reservas’ are rare but exceptional. Most of the wine made here is red, but there is a modest percentage of ‘rosado’. However, no white wines are allowed under the DO.

Today, the wines of Ribera del Duero are respected worldwide for their quality and are accepted as among Spain’s very finest. They are no longer compared with Vega Sicilia or with Rioja, having earned the right to stand on their own vinous feet in a competitive world.

Text Compliments of “The New Spain”- John Radford