Ribera del Duero: Spain’s secret wine paradise
, The Times
Two hours’ drive north of Madrid, on a high, windswept plateau a long way from the beaches, lies a fine wine region that manages to be both famous and forgotten. On the one hand, Ribera del Duero’s oldest modern winery, Vega Sicilia, is recognised as Spain’s most prestigious; and these days, Familia Fernández Rivera (makers of Tinto Pesquera), Dominio de Pingus, Dominio de Es and others have fortified that reputation with their own admired and high-priced wines. On the other, the area was only awarded official DO status in 1982, and a lot of wine lovers couldn’t find it on a map.
Given how good some of these wines are — rich reds, earthy, herbaceous and complex, usually made entirely from tinto fino, the local variation of tempranillo — the question is: why has this been so slow? Partly it’s the problem of having Rioja, which is far better known, 100-odd miles away. Then the Duero River that the region fringes (ribera means riverbank) flows west into Portugal, where it is known as the Douro, and there the steep slopes are famous for a different style of rich red — a fortified one, historically, that was shipped downriver to Porto and across the Atlantic to thirsty England. Port on one side, Rioja on the other is surely the vinous equivalent of nuisance neighbours.
Two of the world’s top wineries, vast Vega Sicilia and tiny Dominio de Pingus, sit five miles apart along the main highway. Between them is a third, Taller Arzuaga, which has a restaurant so good that even a Michelin star, and the 2023 Enotourism Award from Tim Atkin, a Master of Wine who writes a comprehensive annual report on the region, don’t do it justice.
Dominio de Pingus
THOMAS FUERER
Wine has been made at Vega Sicilia since the 1860s, but there are medieval monasteries dotted around the region, including Abadia Retuerta, now a beautiful hotel and winery. And where there were monks there were invariably vines. The discovery of a Roman mosaic nearby depicting Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, strongly suggests that there were vines here a thousand years before that.
Vega Sicilia’s most glorious offering is Unico, a stunning tinto fino with a splash of cabernet sauvignon: earthy yet floral, with notes of rose and cigar, from the estate’s best vineyards. Like all the region’s great reds, it needs time to mature; unlike most of them, Unico gets that time. The present release is the 2014 and it’s still young. At the other extreme I tasted wine still in barrel at Pingus: the 2022 Pingus, already perfumed and elegant, streaming raspberry silk across my tongue, and the 2023 PSI, made from precious old vines. Pure and herbaceous, it was almost drinkable despite its youth and a difficult year featuring frost, rain and extreme heat. “The best vineyards are always more true to themselves than to the vintage,” Peter Sisseck, the owner-winemaker, observed.
Up and down that highway I scooted, with treats at every stop: the 2018 Gran Reserva from Bodegas Felix Callejo; the Aurea Minerva from Bela, part of the Rioja CVNE company; El Lagar de Isilla’s Coleccion Especial Reserva de la Familia 2016. The last winery’s bodega, in Aranda de Duero, has a good restaurant with an open grill that sits above miles of tunnels (before temperature regulation, these were a great way to keep the wine cool). Isilla’s tunnels are a fascinating museum, open to anyone prepared to brave 40ft of stairs.
Other names to watch out for include Marta Maté, Dominio Fournier, Dominio de Cair and Pago de los Capellanes. Buy them … but don’t drink them. Not yet. In Ribera del Duero — the tortoise overtaking the hares to the east and west — patience really is a virtue, on the land and in the bottle.
Five hearty red wines for winter
By Jane MacQuitty
From left: 2015 Remelluri Rioja Reserva; 2018 Domaine de la Grange des Pères, IGP Pays d’Hérault; 2018 Cornas, Domaine A Clape; 2019 150th Anniversary Geyserville Zinfandel; 2018 Barolo ‘Ravera’ GD Vajra
2015 Remelluri Rioja Reserva, Spain
A three-valleys, single-estate, organic rioja with full-bodied, seductive, smoky, richly fruited charm.
£36, bbr.com
2019 150th Anniversary Geyserville Zinfandel, California
Gorgeous zin from the great Ridge winery, bursting with bold, zesty, bramble and violet-scented oomph.
£39, thewinesociety.com
2018 Cornas, Domaine A Clape, France
Classic cornas from the Rhône maestro Auguste Clape, with terrific fleshy, earthy, cracked black-pepper pizzazz.
£148, yapp.co.uk
2018 Barolo ‘Ravera’ GD Vajra, Italy
This dreamy floral, mocha and vanilla-charged, meaty barolo is from a very steep hillside cru vineyard.
£88.99, harrogatewines.com
2018 Domaine de la Grange des Pères, IGP Pays d’Hérault, France
A rare, hugely sought-after, tiny-production Languedoc red with wonderful rich, savoury, minty fruit.
£195, yapp.co.uk
May 09 2025, 11.00pm
May 09 2025, 11.00pm
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June 19 2025, 5.00am