Dominio Del Aguila - Ribera Del Duero Reserva 2017 (750ml)
Price: $73.00
| Producer | Dominio Del Aguila |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Ribera Del Duero |
| Varietal | Tempranillo |
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Sku | 4408 |
| Size | 750ml |
The Reserva is a wine made from oldest vines near the village of Aguilera. Here the vineyards are mainly Tempranillo but like old vines everywhere there are many other varieties red and white mixed in. Rather than separate these varieties Jorge feels that a true representation of these sites is best captured by co-fermenting them. This cuvée sees the longest maceration before aging in barrel for nearly three years – half of that time waiting for the malolactic fermentation to finish! This slow elevage results in a wine with remarkable poise and complexity."
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
The red 2017 Reserva comes from a very challenging year marked by killer spring frost that decimated the crop. Furthermore the end of the season was very warm and dry and the harvest was quite early. The whole clusters fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and the wine completed malolactic and a total élevage of 33 months in oak barrels mostly French. There is more development here especially when tasted next to the younger 2018; it feels a little riper and open a little darker and with a smoky and graphite twist. The palate reveals a little more rusticity and more tannins. It's approachable and quite showy perfumed and a little warmer still keeping the balance and poise. It reflects the vintage. Only 4512 bottles and 54 magnums from this low-yielding year were filled in July 2020. There is a gradual increase of volume in the village reds as they have more than enough old vineyards to bottle more wine and sell fewer grapes. They have been in their new winery since 2018 where they have more room to work. I tasted wines from different vintages as they sell the Gran Reserva five to six years after the harvest and the younger wines a couple of years after the vintage which means there are wines from cool (2016 and 2018) and warmer years (2015 2017 and 2019) with different profiles. 2017 was marked by spring frost and yields were lower but still they managed to produce very good wines from the more challenging year. And in 2016 they managed to produce their first 100-point wine. Bravo!
