Condado de Haza Tinto Ribera del Duero 1998

The 1998 Condado de Haza Tinto reflects the bold and brilliant winemaking style of Alejandro Fernandez. The wine is deep ruby red and exhibits an amplifying nose: berries, black fruits, game and fine aged tobacco scents leap from the glass. Rich, elegant flavors fill the mouth, becoming intense but never harsh. The tannins from Condado de Haza are some of the ripest and most balanced of any Spanish wine we have ever tasted, adding to the wine's appeal. From start to finish, the 1998 Condado de Haza is a pleasure to drink. Open this wine an hour before serving, and enjoy!

World class wine like the 1998 Condado de Haza deserves world-class cuisine. Serve this brilliant red with the finest cuts of beef, lamb or pork. In a traditional Spanish vein, the Condado de Haza admirably complements Veal with Black Olives and Duck Spanish Style served in a rich roasted garlic sauce with sliced stuffed olives and assorted vegetables. Pungent cheeses also provide an admirable partner to the Condado de Haza, and a fine finale to a great meal. But truly, almost any noble fare will be enhanced by this regal red. Enjoy!

Alejandro Fernandez personifies the mercurial 20th century Spanish experience. A family breadwinner from the age of thirteen, Fernandez went on to learn several trades, beginning as a master carpenter. After military service he worked selling agricultural equipment but soon came to manufacture equipment of his own design, attaining national success with a revolutionary beet harvester. During all of those years Alejandro harvested and made wine yearly from his own vineyards, nurturing a life long dream of establishing his own commercial bodega for the exclusive production of great red wines. In 1972, at a time when most growers in the Ribera del Duero were pulling up their vines in favor of more lucrative crops, Alejandro and his wife, Esperanza, licensed their now famous bodega in Pesquera, occupying an old 16th century logar and press house. Today, Alejandro Fernandez is acknowledged to be the unrivaled master of Spain's greatest grape varietal - 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 the vineyard, and an uncompromising desire to produce the best red wine in Spain. In most good vintages, Fernandez produces only two great red wines. Tinto Pesquera and Condado de Haza. The latter is named after an historic medieval hilltop village of the same name. Condado de Haza, one full kilometer of a south facing slope along the Duero River, is perhaps the greatest Tempranillo vineyard in all Spain. Its wine is bottled after 15 months in American oak, and like Tinto Pesquera it can be enjoyed early; yet, it will reward patient cellaring.