Ribera del Duero wines

Onto the wine tasting part of our trip, where the wineries follow the Duero River (this is also true in Portugal as well where you will find Port).  The wines of this wine region must be at least 70% Tempranillo grape.  They follow the same aging rules (time in the barrel & time in the bottle) as Rioja in terms of being a reserve and grand reserve.  The climate goes through dramatic swings from very hot summers to very cold freezing winters.  There are actually four different areas with Ribero del Duero, some with a terroir of limestone (think mineral taste) and the other soil is of clay consistency.  This can give wide swings in taste for the same type of wine.

We visited two wineries (Tinto Pesquera and Condado de Haza) of the same winemaker, Alejandro Fernandez.  This 82 year old man is still very active in the wine making and said to be one of the people who put this region on "the map" for wine. He is well respected in the Spanish wine world.  

I'm not sure way he took a liking to Tony, but he gave him the biggest pours.  

Harvest is in another two weeks.  It's all hand picked and they have an all natural process, adding nothing during fermentation.  He uses 100% Tempranillo and American oak because he thinks it goes best with this type of grape.  Most Spanish wines are meant to age, a good 2003 can be found now, and could be aged for another 10 years.  They ship all over the world and their US distributor is out of Seattle!  They want us to talk to them about importing the single white wine they make.