A rare, top-tier Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero: Over 80-year-old vines from the El Nogal de la Valera vineyard site at 800 metres yield just around 350 bottles of this powerful yet cool and elegant red wine.
Spicy, complex nose with dark, fleshy fruit — blackberry, black cherry, plum and cassis — alongside pepper, juniper, cinnamon, dark chocolate, coffee, graphite, fine leather and a subtle hint of coconut from the barrique.
Palate
Full, rich fruit meets cool minerality and chalky purity; fine-grained tannins provide structure and tension, while the finish remains elegant and long.
Character
Extrovert and gallant at once — a grand, dramaturgically composed Tempranillo with freshness and finesse rather than mere opulence. Pure drama in the glass.
Pairing
T-bone steak with Mediterranean herbs, Provençal-style lamb shoulder or a hearty tomato bake with olives, capers and goat’s cheese.
Notes
Sourced from a single parcel of over 80-year-old vines at 800 metres altitude, aged for 19 months in the finest French barriques and produced in a tiny run of only 350 bottles — ranked by Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros among the ten best wines of Ribera del Duero.
Tasting note
Colour & Appearance
Dark cherry red, dense and almost impenetrable at the core – even in the glass, the concentration of the old vines makes itself known.
Nose
Spicy and playful at once. Blackberry, black cherry, plum and cassis pour from the glass in a full, dark stream, flanked by pepper, juniper and a hint of cinnamon. Behind them: dark chocolate, coffee, graphite, a touch of leather and the subtle coconut note from French wood – a nod to great classic Tempranillo wines, here rendered in a contemporary, cooler style.
Palate
Remarkably elegant for a wine at 15% abv: a cool minerality unfolds, the fruit is rich and present, and fine-grained tannins provide structure and tension. The chalky purity and high-altitude freshness prevent any heaviness – rather than opulence, the wine displays length and precision. Grand vin, without any showboating.
Finish
Long, cool and distinctly mineral, with lingering dark fruit and fine spice right to the end.
Terroir & Origin
The fruit comes exclusively from the top vineyard site El Nogal de la Valera near La Horra – at 800 metres altitude, where vines over 80 years old are rooted in sand and clay. Yields are minimal, concentration extreme. Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros ranks this wine among the ten finest in Ribera del Duero.
Grape Variety & Vinification
Pure Tempranillo, aged for 19 months in the finest French barriques. The estate itself operates on a gravity-flow principle: no pumps, no rush – an approach that oenologist Luca d’Attoma has helped shape since 2011: less extraction, more precise use of wood.
Food Pairing Recommendations
A wine for generous plates: T-bone steak with Mediterranean herbs, caponata and wild herb salad, Provençal-style lamb shoulder with papas arrugadas or – for a vegetarian option – a tomato bake with olives, capers and goat’s cheese.
Special Features
Only 350 bottles are produced per vintage – a rarity even straight from the cask. Behind the wine lies an unusual fusion of music and craft: Charo Agüera, a violinist in the Spanish National Orchestra for decades, evaluates the wines by ear and intuition. The name – “I Opened My Wings” – fits perfectly: certified organic, from an energy-self-sufficient, award-winning bodega on the Golden Mile between Vega Sicilia and Pingus.
