About this WINE
Cillar de Silos
If one recalls one’s history, one will remember that it was the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile that set Spain on its road to unity. This is a somewhat whimsical introduction to Bodegas Cillar de Silos, which is located in the heart of Castille, Ribera del Duero to be precise, but owned and run by the brothers and sister team of Oscár, Roberto and Amelia Aragón.
They also manage the El Quintanal Estate in neighbouring wine region Rueda and are thus perfectly located for both red and white wine making, demonstrating all that is great about, respectively, Verdejo and Tempranillo as grape varieties.
The Aragóns define the House Philosophy with the words ‘purity, fruit, low yields, long ageing and hand selection’. The wines are finely crafted but demonstrably Spanish, which is good news!
Tempranillo/Tinto Fino
A high quality red wine grape that is grown all over Spain except in the hot South - it is known as Tinto Fino in Ribera del Duero, Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas and Ull de Llebre in Catalonia. Its spiritual home is in Rioja and Navarra where it constitutes around 70% of most red blends.
Tempranillo-based wines tend to have a spicy, herbal, tobacco-like character accompanied by ripe strawberry and red cherry fruits. It produces fresh, vibrantly fruit driven "jovenes" meant for drinking young. However Tempranillo really comes into its own when oak aged, as with the top Riojas where its flavours seem to harmonise perfectly with both French and American oak, producing rich, powerful and concentrated wines which can be extraordinarily long-lived.
In Ribera del Duero it generally sees less oak - the exception being Vega Sicilia where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then aged for an astonishing 7 years in oak and is unquestionably one of the world`s greatest wines.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Arlanza lies between Rioja and Ribera del Duero. This is Berry Bros. & Rudd’s first wine from the region and we thank our friends the Aragón family at Cillar de Silos for the introduction – the indefatigable Oscar Aragón is the winemaking consultant at Hacienda del Carmen.
The wonderful fresh strawberry aroma of young Tempranillo soars from every glass, unencumbered by oak and dialled up to 11 by a dose of carbonic maceration (the technique synonymous with the juicy, tannin-light wines of Beaujolais). On the palate, this shows a crisp acidity indicative of the deceptively lofty vineyards of Arlanza DOP, which lies between Rioja and Ribera del Duero. This is BBR’s first wine from Arlanza and we thank our friends the Aragón family at Cillar de Silos for the introduction – the indefatigable Oscar Aragón is the winemaking consultant at Hacienda del Carmen.
Will Heslop - Wine Buyer
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee