Tag: aguila

PICARO RIBERA DEL DUERO VINES VIEJAS 2018

One thinks typically of the Ribera del Duero as a more ‘serious’, what with the neighborhood harboring such heavyweights as Vega Sicilia, Hacienda del Monasterio, Pingus, and Pesquera.   The term ‘Picaro’, the brainchild of Dominio di Aguila, refers to someone who is a rascal, or a rogue.  The question posed by Picaro is, can a Ribera be, well, fun?  While they are clearly deadly serious about their winemaking, they seem to be able to be a lot more light-hearted with their winery persona.

Picaro definitely operates ‘outside the box’ for an area like the Ribera.  Sure you’ve got your Tempranillo here, the backbone grape of the region, and the specific clone that the region hangs it hat on.  But here it is co-fermented with an unusual mixture of Garnacha, Bobal (a grape we associate with climes further south), and Albillo (the rare, indigenous white of the Ribera).  So what do you get?  Well, let’s call it a rogue within the typical confines of the region, but more accurately it is Ribera with its ‘party hat’ on yet with the complexity and dimension to be taken seriously alongside the icons of the region.

There’s plenty of richness here, but there is also a lift to the flavors that is unlike anything else we have tasted from the Ribera, as well as a certain ‘old school’ demeanor that speaks more of Rioja than the Ribera.  Gushing berry and cassis flavors steal the show, but there are also streaks that are like a marinated black cherry, some (Rioja-like) dusty spice, and refined tannins to let you know that this is no ordinary Ribera. 

The vine age here is somewhere north of 50-years-old, and the property is farmed organically/biodynamically, with grapes trodden by foot before being put in French oak for malo-lactic fermentation and a sojourn of 12-20 months in wood.  The vineyards here are north-facing, which give the wine a little cooler profile to begin with.  It all sounds formal enough yet the wine’s wild fruit notes, more lifted personality, and outgoing spiciness can only be described as…fun.  Sure there are structural things that you can point to with wine aficionados that will present the appropriate level of gravitas.  But you could just haul off and drink this with reckless abandon (responsibly of course) in a way that would seem inappropriate with most, admittedly more ‘modern’ Riberas.

Jorge Monzon and Elizabeth Rodero founded the winery only in 2010 after Jorge spent years selling his produce to ‘several high profile neighbors’.  The winemaking is pretty serious here as well and they have definitely separated themselves from the pack in a very good way.  We can only marvel at their successful new approach and how Aguila takes such a stylistic diversion and makes you wonder why more people haven’t done it in this way.

We aren’t the only fans either.  Their stock has gone up with Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez who wrote, “I tasted two vintages of the entry-level red, of which the young 2018 Pícaro del Águila Tinto had just been bottled and should be released soon. This is their most approachable red, and it has the depth, concentration and nuance of the best wines from many wineries. It’s produced in a more jovial style, but the wine comes from old vines that always have a field blend with small percentages of whatever grapes that are all fermented together, and these vines always produce a serious and deep wine. In 2018, it matured in French oak barrels for 11 months. This is very young and tender, expressive and aromatic, very much in line with the 2016. It has lots of energy and power, more than you might think, and it’s serious. It’s drinkable now, but it should get even better with some time in bottle….94 points.”

‘Aguila’ is Spanish for ‘eagle’, and this eagle is flying high, if maybe a little bit outside the typical stylistic boundaries of typical Riberas.  But this is a bold, exciting twist and a welcome addition to the genre as Jorge Monzon is a breed apart from ‘typical’.  A rogue? Yeah, maybe.  Delicious? Absolutely.

PICARO: RIBERA GONE ‘ROGUE’

We go out of our way to taste as many things as we can.  But for us Spain is a particular penchant.  We taste a lot of remarkable wines in the course of our research, as well as the usual percentage of clunkers and other offerings that are getting a lot of critical attention that we simply don’t ‘get’.   Ribera del Duero is seen as a more ‘serious’ appellation with the neighborhood harboring such heavyweights as Vega Sicilia, Hacienda del Monasterio, Pingus, and Pesquera.   There are plenty of discussions about ‘old school’ and ‘new school’, but one of the wines that lit our fire from a discovery perspective last year didn’t seem part of any school.

Jorge Monzon and Elizabeth Rodero founded the winery only in 2010 after Jorge spent years selling his produce to ‘several high profile neighbors’.  They have definitely separated themselves from the pack in a very good way and we can only marvel at their successful new approach and how Aguila takes such a stylistic diversion and makes you wonder why more people haven’t done this.

The wines are the brainchild of Dominio di Aguila, and he labels them ‘Picaro del Aguila’, the term Picaro making reference to someone as a ‘rascal’ or a ‘rogue’.  The playful nature of the program belies how serious these folks are about what they do and the clarity and purpose of their vision.  The winemaking is purposeful and innovative, but ultimately all of the serious winemaking goes to produce wines that are, ultimately, ‘fun to drink’

We first profiled Domino del Aguila last year with the tasty and rather eye-opening 2015 version. The ‘recipe’, if you will, relies heavily on the appropriate clone of Tempranillo.  But he has chosen some rather unusual bedfellows for this part of the world including Grenache, Bobal, a varietal we associate more with Valencia to the southeast, and Albillo, the rare, indigenous white of the Ribera.  Put them all together (del Aguila actually co-ferments them) and what do you get.  As we described the 2015, you get a Ribera with its ‘party hat’ on.  The 2015 went on to get 92+ points and a small novelette from Advocate’s Luis Guttierrez.

The 2016 walks the same line, scored higher and is clearly an even more complete effort.   There’s plenty of richness here, but there is also a lift to the flavors that is unlike anything else we have tasted from the area, probably due to the inclusion of the white grapes in the fermentation a la Cote Roties in the northern Rhone.  Gushing mulberry and cassis flavors abound but there’s a streak that is like a marinated black cherry and more expressive floral elements to the aromatics that announce this is no garden variety Ribera.

The viticulture and winemaking here are more than serious.  The vines, somewhere north of 50-years-old, are farmed organically/biodynamically,  The grapes are trodden by foot before being put in French oak for malo-lactic fermentation and a sojourn in wood (though there is no obvious wood in the flavors).  The vineyards here are north-facing, which give the wine a little cooler profile to begin with and affords the grapes a little more hang time.  The fruit  notes have a certain ‘wild’ character, a more lifted personality that doesn’t sit heavy on the palate, and an effusive spiciness.  The Dominio del Aguila Picaro Ribera del Duero Vinas Viejas 2016 is a gregarious, slippery, tasty and, yes, fun beverage.

Advocate’s Gutierrez went off again, “The youngest of the released wines I tasted is a red—the 2016 Pícaro del Águila Tinto. It is from what they consider to be one of the best and freshest vintages in recent times. This is produced with the vines from the warmer parts of La Aguilera, a cold place to start with (and in a cooler year). The old vines are planted with a mix that is dominated by Tempranillo but also contains some 5% other grapes. All the grapes are picked and fermented together with full clusters and natural yeasts in concrete and stainless steel vats. It matured in oak barrels for 13 months.

“This is fragrant, expressive, open, aromatic and really attractive. The palate is really balanced, with great freshness, fine tannins and a very pleasant mouthfeel—supple, balanced and with great depth. This is the best version of this bottling so far…”   Juicy, well-meshed (it was quite engaging on day two as well), well-priced and versatile, all done in a style all its own, the eagle (aguila is Spanish for ‘eagle) has landed.