2017 Dominio del Aguila, Canta la Perdiz, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Dominio del Aguila

Dominio del Aguila is a wine estate in Spain’s Ribera del Duero region, founded by Jorge Monzón and his partner Isabel Rodero. Winemaker Jorge worked at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy in the early 2000s, later working at Vega Sicilia. In his formative years, he studied with a cohort of dynamic young winemakers, including Guillaume Pouthier of Château les Carmes Haut-Brion in Bordeaux. He harvested his first vintage at Dominio del Aguila in 2010, with his first commercial vintage being the 2014.

Over time he has bought small plots of vines from his family, building up a 50-hectare patchwork of parcels within a three-kilometre radius of his winery in the village of La Aguilera. The vines are on average 90 years old, and all are farmed using biodynamic practices. There are both grafted and ungrafted vines here. Yields are tiny, typically 14-15hl/ha. Jorge uses 100% whole-bunch fermentation.

Ribera del Duero

In the last 30 years, Ribera del Duero has emerged from almost nowhere to challenge Rioja for the crown of Spain's greatest wine region. Once known only as the home of Vega Sicilia it now boasts numerous bodegas of outstanding quality like Cillar de Silos, Alión and Hacienda Monasterio. Ribera del Duero was granted its DO status in 1982, at a time when only nine bodegas were operating there, yet today it has over 200 wineries and more than 20,000 hectares of vines. Most of Ribera del Duero's production is red, with only a modest quantity of rosado produced. No white wines are allowed under the DO.

Ribera del Duero owes its success to a combination of factors: firstly, its terroir of schistous sub-soil bears remarkable similarity to other famous winemaking regions such as the Douro and Priorat. Secondly, its microclimate, with its high altitude, hot days and cool nights (a phenomenon known as “diurnal variation”), ensures ripeness while preserving the vivacity of the fruit, aromatic flavours and refreshing acidity.

Thirdly, it has been blessed with an exceptional native grape, Tempranillo (also known as Tinto del País or Tinto Fino). This yields superb, complex red wines that are delicious when young but which also have the capacity to age into magnificent Gran Reservas. Finally, the immense influence of its winemakers has been key – historically, of course, Vega Sicilia, but more recently Peter Sisseck (Hacienda Monasterio) and the indefatigable Aragón family of Cillar de Silos.

The same DO rules govern Ribera's barrel-aged styles as for Rioja: Crianzas are aged for two years before release with at least a year in oak barrels; Reservas must be three years old with at least a year spent in oak; and, finally, Gran Reservas must be five years old before going on sale, with two years spent in barrel. The young (joven) unoaked red wines, called Roble, tend to boast a moreish, vibrant, bramble fruit while the best oak-aged styles of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva show intense, generous fruit, overlaid with notes of vanilla and sweet spice, and wrapped up in polished, elegant tannins.

Recommended producers: Vega Sicilia (including Alión), Cillar de Silos, Hacienda Monasterio

Other Varieties

There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.