Ribera del Duero, a visit worth (part 2)
We hope that you liked our blog about Ribera del Duero Part 1.
Probably you did because otherwise you was not reading this.
Now we started with our journey in Ribera del Duero we continue our trip.
We drove away from Roa del Duero in the direction of our hotel. Everywhere you drive you see bodegas and vines. It is quite at the roads but that is probably because of the weather and it is no holiday season.
For us a good periode to visit Ribera del Duero.
In Roa there are also Bodegas and they can all be visited:
The first two we have not seen but we passed the last one. It was closed but because of the architecture of the bodegas we had to stop and take a picture.
We never drank wine of this bodega. We even didn’t know this bodega but when you watched the website we saw that the winery consists 70 Hectares of its own vineyards in Roa and Pedrosa de Duero. Most of them, and the ones that provide the wine’s identity, are of the Tinta del País variety. They also have Merlot and Albillo Mayor as a complement and to provide nuance. The bodega have some 700 barrels on the premises of between 225 and 500 litres, 80% of them French Oak and 20% American Oak. It was in 1994 when Santiago López managed to achieve his dream of creating his own winery. It had all started much earlier, around the 1930’s, when his father, also called Santiago, started a new family project in the Ribera del Duero, in the same place where the winery is located today. The definitive push into the world of viticulture came in the 80’s, coinciding with the beginning of the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin. After several years as a viticulturist, the time came to produce his own wine, thereby creating Bodegas López Cristóbal. The name comes from combining two surnames (López from Santiago and Cristóbal from Lola, his wife).
You can visit the Bodega and they have Red, white and rose wines.
We will try them sometime. Especially the white wine with the Albillo grape (the only DO white grape of Ribera del Duero) we never tasted.
And again we drove further. What will we see before we reach our hotel 😂
It was still raining and we couldn’t enjoy the beautiful views at vineyards but we noticed that the surroundings are great. 9 minutes before we finally would reach our hotel we saw in the distance (difficult to see because of the rain) again a bodega. This bodega was also on my list to visit but it didn’t fit the plan and route. But probably the route was different again.
We turned on the long driveway and what we saw was an very modern building.
But also very expensive cars.
Have you ever seen the next video of someone who opens the wine tanks?
Well that was at Cepa21. Never heard if the crime is solved.
For us that was the first time we were reading about the bodega but, now we have studied Ribera del Duero, we know that the wines, the building and also the restaurant are very famous.
We had to film the supercars that were parked at the entrance. Nice combination: supercars, wine, architecture and views. Do you agree?
Cepa 21 is an project of José Moro. He comes from a winemaking family that started with the Bodegas Emilio Moro also located in Ribera del Duero https://www.emiliomoro.com/en/ in the town Pesquera de Duero. In 2000 Jose Moro plants 50 hectares of vineyard with clones of the centuries-old vines from the vineyards of his father and grandfather. The first vintage of Cepa21 was harvest in 2002. In 2007 is building is inaugurated.
The vineyards of Bodegas Cepa 21 are one of its greatest assets. They are located at an altitude of between 750 and 900 meters above sea level and face north. Both factors ensure that the grapes ripen gradually, giving them complexity and freshness. The project has 50 hectares of its own vineyards on soils of silty sand, clay or limestone, most of them very close to the winery and planted with the clone of centuries-old vineyards of the area (the purest Tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero).
We did that a wine tasting as you can see. We deserved that.
Here you see all the wines, the building inside with the view at the vines and the stairway to the first floor with the restaurant:
We tasted Cepa 21 of the year 2021:
A red that leaves its mark. The Cepa 21 wine represents the maximum expression of the area's terroir. This wine combines the modernity and innovation of the winery itself but without forgetting the roots and legacy of a three-generation family that is a guarantee of quality in all its wines.
Technical details:
Appellation: Ribera del Duero
Soil: Limestone - Clay - Stony
Location: Castrillo de Duero
Orientation: North and South-east
Malolactic Fermentation: 30 days in vats
Variety: Tempranillo
Ageing: French oak barrels
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HARVEST
The 2021 vintage saw mild Spring temperatures, abundant rainfall in April and a summer with temperatures slightly lower than usual, which slowed the plants’ vegetative cycle. Rain was scarce at the beginning of Autumn, promoting the ripening of the grapes.
WINEMAKING PROCESS
Its alcoholic fermentation is carried out in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature for 18 days, followed by malolactic fermentation for 30 days. Aged in French oak barrels.
TASTING NOTES
Intense cherry red color, clean and bright. On the nose we discover a wine full of nuances, highlighting the varietal notes of Tempranillo and toasted aromas, the result of its barrel aging. Faithful reflection of the nose, in the mouth we find a long aftertaste in which, again, fruit and wood stand out. In short, perfect to enjoy the wine.
We tasted also Malabrigo of the year 2021:
Malabrigo is personality and elegance. Coming from one of the preferred vineyards of Bodegas Cepa21 and which receives the same name as the wine due to its unique characteristics, we are faced with a round, special wine full of nuances.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Appellation: Ribera del Duero
Soil: Limestone - Clay - Stony
Location: Castrillo de Duero
Orientation: North and South-east
Malolactic Fermentation: 30 days in vats
Variety: Tempranillo
Ageing: French oak barrels
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HARVEST
The 2021 vintage saw mild Spring temperatures, abundant rainfall in April and a summer with temperatures slightly lower than usual, which slowed the plants’ vegetative cycle. Rain was scarce at the beginning of Autumn, promoting the ripening of the grapes.
WINEMAKING PROCESS
Its alcoholic fermentation is made at a controlled temperature in steel tanks for 26 days followed by malolactic fermentation for 30 days in French oak barrels. It is aged in French oak barrels.
TASTING NOTES
Shows a cherry red color, bright and intense, with an elegant tear in the glass. On the nose, it is a very expressive wine, with ripe black fruit and the subtle presence of wood, accompanied by warmth and balsamic touches. On the palate, it extends with a long, seductive and sweet taste, where the soft tannin joins harmoniously with the fruity notes and the nuances of the oak, offering a captivating experience.
By the way: we love the design of the wine labels. The design is from Armoder Design Studio. They make a lot of nice wine labels.
www.armoder.com
After we finished the wine tasting we continued our trip to the hotel.
Next stop the town Peñafiel. The heart of Ribera del Duero.
In our Blog part 3 we tell you everything about our next wine adventures in Ribera del Duero where we finally reach our hotel. And what a hotel it is!
Hope you will read it and follow us on our socials.
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