Ribera del Duero is one of the most important wine-growing regions in Spain, is located in Castilla y León and embraces a part of the Duero basin. Limited in the east by the town of San Esteban de Gormaz and in the west by Quintanilla de Onessimo, Ribera del Duero has a surface of 21000 hectares and an annual production of barely 56 million of liters.
In terms of general climate the region of Ribera del Duero is characterized for having dry hot summers, long and cold winters and low rainfalls (an average of 500lt per year). A distinctive feature is the difference in the temperature between day and night, especially in summer, key fact to obtain a perfect grape ripening and excellent quality of the grape harvest in autumn.
The allowed production is at most 7000kg of grape each hectare. Located on the northern highlands of the Iberian Peninsula. The topographical relief reaches the 900m.
The allowed grape varieties are mainly reds and are strictly regulated by the Regulatory Council. Every wine must contain at least a 75% of the grape Tempranillo to be qualified as a Ribera del Duero. Other allowed red varieties are: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Negra and Malbec, while there is only a one white variety; called Albillo.
It’s also common the production of Rosé wines.
According to the ageing, the wines can be categorized in this way (the ageing must be shown on the product label):
Under the appellation "Cosecha" we may find:
Tinto Joven: Wine without barrel aging.
Tinto Roble: Wine with a maximum aging of 3 months in oak barrels.
Red Crianza: Ageing less than 24 months, at least 12 of them in oak barrels.
Red Reserva: Ageing of 36 months, at least 12 of them in oak barrels.
Gran Reserva Red wine: Total ageing of 60 months, at least 24 of them in oak barrels.
In terms of general climate the region of Ribera del Duero is characterized for having dry hot summers, long and cold winters and low rainfalls (an average of 500lt per year). A distinctive feature is the difference in the temperature between day and night, especially in summer, key fact to obtain a perfect grape ripening and excellent quality of the grape harvest in autumn.
The allowed production is at most 7000kg of grape each hectare. Located on the northern highlands of the Iberian Peninsula. The topographical relief reaches the 900m.
The allowed grape varieties are mainly reds and are strictly regulated by the Regulatory Council. Every wine must contain at least a 75% of the grape Tempranillo to be qualified as a Ribera del Duero. Other allowed red varieties are: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Negra and Malbec, while there is only a one white variety; called Albillo.
It’s also common the production of Rosé wines.
According to the ageing, the wines can be categorized in this way (the ageing must be shown on the product label):
Young red: Wine without ageing or less than 12 months. The wines categorized as “roble” (ageing from 4 to 8 months) are part of this group.
Red Crianza: Ageing less than 24 months, at least 12 of them in oak barrels.
Red Reserva: Ageing of 36 months, at least 12 of them in oak barrels.
Gran Reserva Red wine: Total ageing of 60 months, at least 24 of them in oak barrels.
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