Finca Villacreces, `Pruno` Ribera del Duero MAGNUM 2017

Country: Spain  Region: Castilla y Léon  Vintage: 2017

Varietal: Tempranillo and blends  Category: Red Wine  Color:  Red

Producer: Finca Villacreces

"Finca Villacreces was described by Robert Parker as 'the hidden jewel in Ribera del Duero'. The estate is based at the heart of the Ribera del Duero DO, forming part of the 'golden mile' along with its immediate neighbour Vega Sicilia to the west, Pingus and other such high profile estates. Located in Quintanilla de Onesimo, the stunning estate was purchased by the Anton family of Izadi in 2003 and the resulting wines, made by winemaker Ángel Ortega together with Luis Laso, are deep, dark and focused in style.

The vineyards follow what is called 'integrated viticulture', with canopy management and natural treatments used instead of artificial chemicals. The myriad combinations of sand, gravel, shingle and quartz soils encourage low vigour in the vines (yields are around three tonnes per hectare) and different flavour profiles in the grapes. The estate sits at 735 metres above sea level and comprises 64 hectares. Eighty five percent are planted with Tempranillo (mostly on sand, which gives an attractive fleshiness to the wines), with 5% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (mostly on the quartz and shingle, giving more mineral complexity).

'Pruno' was developed by the team at Villacreces a few years ago with the intention of making a Ribera del Duero that could be enjoyed earlier than their icon wine from this estate, the Villacreces, which is a step up in concentration, depth and complexity. Full of red and black fruit, spice, vanilla and liquorice, it has a smooth, rounded texture and fresh acidity ensuring excellent balance. 'Nebro', the single vineyard wine, is named after the 1.2 hectare site of the estate's oldest (80+ years) Tempranillo vines, which lie just three metres from Vega Sicilia. It is produced only in exceptional vintages and in very limited quantities, just five barrels. The 2017 is the current release."

Winemaker: Angél Ortega

Vineyards:

Grapes for Pruno are only taken from Finca Villacreces' own vineyards. Until recently, the estate sold this production to some of the high profile wineries in the region. Now that the vines have reached between 10 and 15 years of age, the Izadi family have begun to handpick and vinify the grapes themselves. The vineyards have a mixture of soils: sandy, gravel, shingle and quartz, each contributing different flavours. The vineyards are planted with about 75% Tempranillo (mostly on the sandy vineyards, which give an attractive fleshiness to the wines), 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (mostly on the quartz and shingle, giving more mineral complexity). Organic practices are used as much as possible and the close proximity of the river helps protect against frost. Work is currently being undertaken in the vineyards to raise the height of the canopy to obtain riper, healthier grapes.

Vinification:

The Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon were fermented separately in small stainless steel tanks. The two varieties were then aged separately in fine-grained, French oak barrels (Taransaud and Darnajou) for 12 months after which the final blend was assembled and the wine bottled.

Closure: Natural Cork  ABV:13.5%  Classification: DOC