TN: 2012 Hacienda Solano Ribera del Duero Finca Peña Lobera

  • 2012 Hacienda Solano Ribera del Duero Finca Peña Lobera - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (6/15/2021)
    Having never of this producer with zero notes of any vintage on CT; I stumbled upon this wine via Luis Gutierrez’s note(s) and producer commentary and immediately wanted to give this a go as soon as I could get some. For starters, only 56the vineyards 8 bottles were made and as luck would have it – Vinopolis in PDX had two of them. Beyond being scarce, the vineyards are 900 meters in altitude, vine age 80 years plus, poor, limestone / stony soils and 18 mos. in used oak barrels. 100% Tempranillo. Oh, they used to sell their grapes to Vega Sicilia and Emilio Moro…… Sign me up! The wine itself flat out delivered. Incredibly floral, and while semi dark in color, and the initial impression was in the blacker end of the fruit spectrum, but the freshness was just amazing. Constantly evolving, one taste would impart a citrus imprint on the edges and then maybe you would notice the smooth as silk texture the next. Wonderful, I’m going to track down some of the 16 which is the latest vintage. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I had this again last night to confirm if my impression above was validated or if that was just a good day for a good bottle. Please keep this next statement in this context - Most high end Spanish reds I drink are in the sub hundred - with Ygay being the only exception (have you seen current prices - yikes!) - the usual suspects Muga, RLH, La Rioja Alta etc. This is one of the best Spanish reds I have ever had and I cannot wait to try this with another 5 or 10 years under its belt. Too bad it is almost impossible to source in the US.