Dominio del Aguila Ribera del Duero Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva 2019 ØKO i trækasse

Robert Parker

They didn't produce the 2017 vintage of the single-vineyard wine from some of their oldest vines, so after the 2016 they jumped to the 2018 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva. It has a very intense nose of licorice, flowers (decayed violets), wet chalk, spices (nutmeg), some nuts (pecan) and a volatile twist with great freshness. It matured in French oak barrels for 53 months. It has a fine thread, a chalky and dry feeling, fine tannins and a dry and very tasty finish that's almost salty. It has all the components and the balance with them to develop nicely in bottle. It should age effortlessly for 30 years. It's very impressive, but it doesn't reach the elegance of the 2016. 1,729 bottles and 42 magnums produced. It was bottled in March 2023.

Vivino

Robert Parker

The youth, freshness, balance and harmony of the 2016 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva is gobsmacking. The wine is a little shy, insinuating, reticent and a little closed, and it feels younger than it is. It comes from a collection of small plots of some of the oldest vines in the village of La Aguilera in the lieu-dit, or "paraje," that names the wine, in a small valley surrounded by pine, holm and juniper trees, where there is a cold draft of air and the temperature is lower than in the rest of the village. The soils are sandy and intermixed with clay on a marl mother rock. The plants are mostly Tempranillo, but as they are very old vines, there's always a field blend of other varieties—Albillo Mayor, Monastrell, Garnacha, Bobal and Cariñena—all fermented together with full clusters that were foot trodden in concrete vats and indigenous yeasts. Malolactic was in barrel and lasted for 11 months, while the élevage was extended to a total of 55 months (almost five years!). After all this time in barrels, the wine is not oaky at all; it's floral and perfumed, elegant, nuanced and layered. The texture is silky, and it's medium-bodied, with moderate ripeness, 14% alcohol and very good freshness denoted by a pH of 3.41. It has fine tannins that make it nicely textured and fine-boned, with subtle minerality. This should be veeeeeery long lived, as it has the stuffing, all the ingredients and the balance between them to make old bones. Amazing juice. 3,591 bottles and 51 magnums were filled in April 2021.