ValSotillo - VS Reserva 2016
Price: $80.00
| Producer | ValSotillo |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Ribera del Duero |
| Varietal | Tempranillo |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Sku | 010890 ORO |
| ABV | 14.50% |
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I was lucky enough to start working with Bodega ValSotillo just over three years ago, when Steph and I went to visit this historic estate, located in the Burgos region of Ribera del Duero. While there, we saw their immaculate vineyards which sit on 25 hectares (over 61 acres) in the village of Sotillo de la Ribera. These gnarly, bush-trained Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) vines — grown in clay soils — average 40 years of age, many as old as 80 years, some over 100 years old! In exceptional vintages, it is these grapes that go into their Vendimia Seleccionada (VS) Reserva.
We also had the opportunity to visit their cellars. Touring the winery is like stepping back in time, in the best sense of the phrase. The property was once a wine-making village, where each family's home had its own entrance into the caves within the mountain. As I walked through the narrow tunnels, I ran my fingers across the walls and ceiling, feeling the pick marks left when those tunnels were carved out by hand over 400 years ago. These centuries-old cellars stretch for over two miles underground. It is impossible not be swept away by the majesty and history of the estate, and that feeling is present in every wine that is carefully grown, vinified and aged in these historic vineyards and cellars.
The ValSotillo VS Reserva pours a gorgeous ruby, and for a wine with as much age as it has, it still looks quite youthful. Immediately out of the bottle, intense sauvage aromas intertwined with red and black fruits and dried flowers explode from the glass. On the palate, the wine is well-structured with a discrete acidity that lurks in the background and firm, earthy tannins. It is still fresh and focused, displaying prominent, ripe fruit flavors and spice with a long and lingering finish.
After time in a decanter, the VS opens up beautifully! The nose becomes even more complex with notes of potpourri and ripe berries which add a beautiful delicacy to the aromas. The wine softens on the palate, with the tannins integrating and taking on more of a silky texture. The flavors coalesce into a seamless whole, complimented by an underlying minerality. Be sure to decant before serving, and please put some aside to cellar: it will age gracefully for another 20 years!
