Dominio de Basconcillos

The whole bodega is modern, large and surrounded by its own vineyards on the high plateau at 960m, crucial to allowing later ripening and a higher glycerol content in the wines. Using sustainable and environmentally friendly methods and with more Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted than their neighbours, this is a top bodega with intentions to be a wine of reference in Ribera del Duero for the future. The Ribera del Duero DO stretches 115km from Valladolid and Peñafiel to Aranda in the east. The substrata is silty clay over limestone with poor alluvial deposits nearer the river and finer chalk at higher altitude. It is on the chalky soils near Trevino that Basconcillos sits. Altitude is important: Basconcillos benefits from cooler temperatures and better diurnal variation. This is a high frost risk area, costs are higher than the world average, and vintages are more variable than in Rioja. However, the intensity of flavours and density of these wines make them more age-worthy and certainly a counterpoint to their famous neighbour, while being ‘Spanish’ in their warmth and generosity, and world class in quality.