Condado de Haza Ribera del Duero 2012

The 2012 Condado de Haza Ribera del Duero ranks as another unequivocal success from Alejandro Fernandez and his incomparable 500-acre Condado de Haza. The deeply saturated 2012 Condado de Haza reflects the bold and brilliant winemaking style of Alejandro Fernandez. Not only is this Tempranillo deeply colored, it exhibits an amplifying nose of crushed blackberry, plum, bramble, currant, cedar, and more. It, also, possesses a rich, savory feel in the mouth to buoy its considerable structure and ripe tannins. Firm, full-bodied, and full of flavor, the 2012 Condado de Haza sets a benchmark for Tempranillo and the esteemed Ribera del Duero appellation. Aged 15 months in oak barriques, this sophisticated but intense wine offers plenty to enjoy now, yet it will continue to improve in bottle for a decade or more. Clearly, the 2012 Condado de Haza is one of the finest Tempranillo wines from Ribera del Duero at any price, but don’t just take our word for it: Wine Spectator awarded the 2012 Condado de Haza 93 Points. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest an hour or more of aeration prior to serving at cool room temperature (60°-64° F).

World-class Tempranillo such as the 2012 Condado de Haza deserves culinary accompaniments on par with its style and stature. Consequently, we suggest serving this brilliant, age-worthy red with the finest cuts of beef, pork, or lamb. In a traditional Spanish vein, we recommend Veal with Black Olives and Capers as well as Duck Mediterraneo, half of a roasted duck smothered in a pungent, herb-infused roasted garlic sauce, and served with sliced stuffed olives and assorted vegetables. Heady cheeses also provide excellent partners to the 2012 Condado de Haza, as both the wine and cheese complement one another and supply a fine finale to a special meal or dinner party, too. However, almost any noble fare will be enhanced by this regal, robust red. Enjoy!

Condado de Haza is one of four great bodegas that are owned and run by the legendary Alejandro Fernandez. Alejandro Fernandez personifies the mercurial 20th century Spanish experience. A family breadwinner from the age of thirteen, he has been a soldier, salesman, and master carpenter. After military service, he began working for an agricultural equipment firm, where he attained national success with the development of a revolutionary beet harvester. While toiling on the land with farmers and equipment, he harvested yearly his own grapes and made his own wine, and he dreamed of the day he would establish his own commercial bodega for the production of Spain’s greatest red wine.

In 1972, at a time when most growers in the Ribera del Duero were pulling up vines in favor of more lucrative crops, Alejandro and his wife, Esperanza, licensed Pesquera, their now famous Ribera del Duero bodega, which is lodged in a 16th century lagar and press house. Today, Alejandro Fernandez is acknowledged as the unrivaled master of Spain’s greatest grape variety – Tempranillo. He has accomplished this feat by the selection of the ideal soils for the temperamental Tempranillo, great innovation in the cellar as well as in the vineyard, and an uncompromising desire to produce the best red wine in Spain.

Condado de Haza was begun in 1989 as a sister project to Pesquera. It is named after a historic medieval village that sits upon a hill nearby. The vineyard Condado de Haza sits upon a south-facing slope that runs for a solid kilometer along the Duero River. It has been called the greatest Tempranillo vineyard in all Spain. Its wine is bottled after spending 15 months in oak barrels and, like Pesquera, it can be enjoyed early or cellared for a decade or more, as Alejandro Fernandez’s exceptional Tempranillo wines have a propensity for graceful aging and improving with time in the bottle.