Thursday was our Ribera del Duero and a focus on high quality Tempranillo.
Heading east out of Valladolid, our first stop was at Finca Villacreces. This estate is part of the Artevino Group which includes Vina Izadi in Rioja, Vetus in Toro and has vineyards in Rueda. The estate is very picturesque with a protected pine forest in the middle and with some of the vineyards bordering with the esteemed Vega Sicilia.
Elsa took us round and gave us a good insight into the history, the development of the estate and how Pruno – their entry level wine – has become one of the best known and best value wines in the region. We toured the impressive modern winery before heading into the tasting room. A cracking line up of wines ensued as we tasted their Verdejo from Rueda and Toro red as well as Pruno and their Finca Villacreces Ribera del Duero. Superb wines and a lovely visit.
From Villacreces it was 45 minutes to Bodegas Valduero. I have been visiting Valduero since 2012 and during that time they have become one of the most important wineries not only in the region but in all of Spain. We were hosted by the amazing Alfonso who covers all the Western European markets for the estate. Alfonso is very engaging and very funny and created a truly unique experience as we headed into the incredible winery built into the hillside. He went into great detail discussing the philosophy of the estate and we were then wowed by the art exhibition whereby young Spanish artists are given a wine barrel to create some amazing pieces of work.
From the barrel cellar we headed into their restaurant for a traditional lunch of roast lamb – preceded by a fabulous tasting of their wines.
We all drank rather too much – it was Alfonso’s fault! A brilliant day.
