Tinto Pesquera

Alejandro Fernandez is born in 1932, and he quitted school to work as a carpenter, blacksmith and inventor of farm machinery, before starting his winery in 1972, releasing his first wine in 1975. In 1989 he built a new bodega called Condado de Haza, producing over 60,000 cases of wine. Recently he purchased a 2,000 acre estate in Toro.

Alejandro is credited for bringing worldwide attention to Ribera del Duero, forcing the government to grant the region an official DO status in 1982. The signature wine is Janus, with 50% coming from grapes without destemming, and ferment in stone trough and the other 50% coming from the more modern approach.

Tinto Pesquera is planted with 100% Tempranillo, the average vine age is 15 years. Originally the wine is fermented in concrete troughs called lagares which is used for making vintage port, now stainless steel tanks are used since 1982. The young wine goes straight to new oak for malolactic fermentation, predominantly American oak, but for special lots Spanish and French oak are also employed.

Clarification is done through racking and no filtration or cold stabilization is used. Bottling takes place after 18 months for Crianza, 24 for Reserva and 30 for Gran Reserva. Further bottle ageing prior to release includes 6 months for Crianza, 12 for Reserva and 30 for Gran Reserva. Total production is around 500,000 bottles for Crianza, 90,000 for Reserva, 30,000 for Gran Reserva, 10,000 for Janus (only five vintages produced) and 10,000 for Millennium (1996 vintage only).

I have recently tasted many of its wines, and the tasting notes are listed below:

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of medium ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry and bramble, oak notes of vanilla, animal notes of meaty, sweet spice of nutmeg, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture, the wine has medium (+) alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry, red fruit of ripe cherries, kernel notes of coffee, oak notes of vanilla. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Ribera del Duero crianza with a reasonably intense nose showing reasonable complexity of aromas, the wine has a good structure, supported by good acidity and a robust tannin. The flavors are also reasonably concentrated with a fair length on the finish. It is ready to drink now and can benefit from further ageing of another 1-2 years.

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, red fruit of cherries, oak notes of vanilla, pungent spice of liquorice, kernel notes of chocolate, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium tannin of ripe and velvety texture, the wine has medium (+) alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry, oak notes of vanilla, pungent spice of liquorice, kernel notes of cocoa, animal notes of leather. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Ribera del Duero crianza with a fairly intense nose showing reasonable complexity, the wine has a robust structure, balanced, and exhibiting an all-round texture, supported by reasonably concentrated flavors of similar profile as the nose, as well as a fair degree of finish. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of medium tawny color and with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of dried fruit of raisin and prune, black fruit of dark cherries, animal notes of leather and farmyard, maturity notes of game, floral notes of violet, MLF notes of cream, mineral notes of earth, oak notes of smoke. The wine is fully developed.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium tannin of rounded and silky texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium body with medium intensity flavors of mineral notes of earth, animal notes of leather, kernel notes of walnut, dried fruit of prune, maturity notes of game, black fruit of dark cherries. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Ribera del Duero with an intense and extremely complex nose, the wine is a pure pleasure with a good development while at the same time still showing ample fruit and other characters. On the palate it is balanced, with a firm structure and good concentration. The finish is also fairly long. Overall a wine that one can drink non-stop and finish a whole bottle in no time. Ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing.