Planning to visit in early November. Fly to Madrid, head north to Ribera del D for a few days then on to Rioja then back to Madrid. A few years ago, I passed through Haro and hit a couple of biggies (Muga and Rioja Alta), but otherwise have no experience in the area. Any recommendations for restaurants, visits, actives, etc. would be appreciated. Not looking to visit Vega Sicilia. My little group always looks for small intimate experiences and we hope to discover wines that we’ll be drinking long after the trip is over.
Hi Mark - lots of info in the Travel Forum.
A month ago we visited the ValSotillo winery in the village of Sotillo de la Ribera in Burgos:
as well as the nearby Pago De Carraovejas winery near Penafiel in Valladolid:
ValSotillo is a traditional family winery with 60-90 yo head trained Tempranillo vines and 400 yo caves. They’re one of the founding estates of the Ribera del Duero DO.
Pago de Carrovejas is an ultra modern winery with a view of the Penafiel castle. They include small amounts of Cab and Merlot in their Tempranillo. Their vines are trellised and replanted after 25 years. The winery incorporates an exceptionally good restaurant.
Wines at both places were very good with the ValSotillo wines made in a more traditional style than the Pago de Carrovejas’s more modern style.
We stayed in a converted medieval monastery in the village of San Bernardo, a few miles west of Penafiel:
Here’s a few pictures I took:
Thanks for the replies. I’m still figuring out the site. I will check out the travel forum.
I can also highly recommend the converted monastery hotel that Clyde linked to above.
For Madrid I can highly recommend the ME Madrid Reina Victoria hotel:
It’s in a great part of the city for nightlife and you can walk everywhere, including the Prado museum.
I really like Bodega Abel Mendoza’s wines. Has a fantastic 100% Graciano.
I personally had a great experience at Bodega Dominio del Aguila. Might be a little out of the way depending on where you’re staying in Ribera del Duero. Considering you’re looking for a more intimate experience, it would be my top suggestion if you can get something scheduled.
However, a minor word of caution. They didn’t have any bottles available to purchase when we were there as it’s a pretty small operation. If this presents a major problem for you, it might be worth inquiring beforehand.