Collection: Tàbula

Start-up bodega (2002). These Ribera del Duero wines shot straight to the top league with Tàbula and Gran Tàbula, which consistently score between 90 and 94 in various Spanish and foreign wine guides and magazines, for example on the Parker scale. (e.g. also recently: Decanter Magazine Dec. 2008: 5 * for Gran Tàbula 2004). They are now also bringing a Crianza (Damana) and a semi-Crianza (Damana 5) to market. We were impressed by the wines that we tasted.

D.O. Ribera del Duero is located in central Spain, 100 km north of Madrid. Together with Rioja and Priorato this D.O. is considered one of the best regions for Spanish wines. With altitudes of 700 to 850 metres, cold winters and warm summers, and strong temperature fluctuations between day and night, the grapes ripen slowly and develop excellent acidity. These Crianzas and Reservas are wines absolutely suited to ageing.

Ribera del Duero is blessed with a combination of terroir, microclimate and a native grape variety which allows outstanding and complex red wines to be made. At this altitude, Tempranillo (also known as Tinta del País or Tinto Fino) develops refreshingly acidic grapes with thin skins, which make wines that can be enjoyed both young and as Gran Reservas. After being awarded D.O. status in 1982, many vineyards were replanted and all sorts of bodegas, ranging from small family businesses to large cooperatives and wine estates, began investing in modern winemaking technology. At the same time, families, which had previously sold their grape harvests to bodegas, established their own wineries, while the Consejo Regulador stimulated research and development projects ranging from automatised harvest quality controls to pesticide alternatives

This newly acquired common knowledge had an enormous impact on the quality of the wine, which is nowadays exported throughout the world. There is a wine museum in Peñafiel Castle and the Centro de Interpretación del Vino (a museum entirely dedicated to winemaking) in Aranda del Duero (Burgos).