A two-hour drive north of Madrid, Ribera del Duero lies in the province of Castilla y León — a severe, dramatic land of rough mesas and rocky plateaus stretching as far as the eye can see, with massive stone castles atop the highest ridges.
On these high, dry, sunny plains the vineyards have a severity of their own: old vines, gnarled as if in agony, protrude from the rough ground, and the earth herself seems to cling to the muscular vines.
The region is named for the Duero, the third longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, which crosses the great meseta (high plateau) of north central Spain.
Ribera del Duero is almost exclusively a red wine region (simple rosés are made for local consumption).
Its major grape is tinto fino, also called tinta del país — another name for tempranillo, though after centuries of adaptation the clones here differ markedly from Rioja's, and tinto fino's smaller berries and tougher skins, driven by the harsh climate, make wines that are often more powerful (if occasionally less polished) than Rioja.
The reds are bold, concentrated, ripe, mouthfilling and structured, packed with dark flavours of roasted coffee, cocoa, peat and black licorice, yet top examples are also lusciously refined and among the longest-lived of all Spanish reds.
Three Ribera del Duero wines — Vega-Sicilia's Unico, Pingus and Pesquera — are among the most widely known reds in the world; Unico is one of Spain's most expensive red wines.
There are more than 250 wine estates in the region.
