Dominio Basconcillos Seis Meses Ribera del Duero 2015

The 2015 Dominio Basconcillos Seis Meses Ribera del Duero truly reflects the estate’s pre-eminence in crafting traditional Ribera del Duero, as this wine offers a deep red color, superb concentration, and ample tannins to live a long illustrious life. It begins its magic with a tantalizing aroma of dark cherries, sassafras, and fresh, un-smoked tobacco. It follows through in the mouth with plenty of robust fruit and spice flavors backed by ripe bodacious tannins that let you know there is no wimp in this wine, and that it plans to live a long healthy life with all the requisite requirements it needs to age gracefully. For near term consumption we strongly suggest decanting the 2015 Dominio Basconcillos Seis Meses Ribera del Duero at least an hour ahead of serving at cool room temperature (59°-64° F). Enjoy!

The 2015 Dominio Basconcillos Seis Meses Ribera del Duero deserves a place at table in the company of hearty, robust dishes. Some of our favorite accompaniments to this wine include a spicy country cassoulet and traditional paella made with chicken and pork. Duck confit, and grilled quail stuffed with wild rice and served with a spicy white bean dish prepared with fresh rosemary, also get our nod. Venison stew prepared with carrots and potatoes constitutes another winning partnership. Tomato based dishes with capers such as Chicken Cacciatore provides an excellent accompaniment, too. Buen Provecho!

A bit of rare artisanal Farmhouse Cheshire, a slice of Spanish Mahon, or a bite of a full-flavored cheese such as a Swiss Appenzeller, a unique cheese replete with an infusion of twenty or more plants and spices, makes a fine companion to the robust 2015 Dominio Basconcillos Seis Meses Ribera del Duero. For more information on the world’s finest cheeses, contact us at www.cheesemonthclub.com.

Dominio Basconcillos marks a return to the traditional style of Ribera del Duero and high altitude organic viticulture that prevailed before the advent of phylloxera and the devastating effects of civil war and economic malaise that prevailed throughout Spain during much of the 20th century. In the late 1990s, Burgos native José Maria Basconcillos went in search of virgin land in Ribera del Duero on which he sought to establish one of Ribera del Duero’s leading organic vineyards. He found precisely what he was looking for in a private hunting property of 125 contiguous acres near Gumiel de Izán where he established Dominio Basconcillos. The property lies at the northernmost extreme of the Ribera del Duero appellation at 3,300 feet of elevation, which makes it one of the highest vineyards in the entire region and in a sector where the first monastic vineyards were planted centuries ago.

Today, Dominio Basconcillos is comprised of a modern state-of-the-art bodega and chateau situated among the estate’s organically cultivated vines. All wines labeled Dominio Basconcillos are certified organic (Vino Ecológico, Agricultura Ecológica). In addition to the estate’s strict organic practices, all grapes are harvested by hand, de-stemmed, and sorted three times before entering the gravity flow process as whole berries. Bordeaux-trained enologist Francisco Barona takes full advantage of the estate’s high altitude vineyard and pure fresh fruit to practice natural winemaking and fashion wines with exceptional concentration, freshness and balance.

After Dominio Basconcillos’ wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, they are aged in oak for varying periods of time, from 6 months (Seis Meses) for this month’s feature to several years in a combination of new and used American and French oak barrels. Each Dominio Basconcillos wine is unique and created with a purpose. The estate’s Seis Meses is meant to be consumed in the first 10 years of life, while Dominio Basconcillos’ wines labeled Viña Magna receive the longest ageing in barrel and constitute the estate’s longest-lived and most illustrious accomplishments. Viña Magna’s Tempranillo Crianza actually qualifies as a Reserva while the estate’s Reserva can rightly claim Gran Reserva status.

Located in the heart of Spain in the ancient realm of Castile and León, Ribera del Duero has been a center of wine production for thousands of years. Today, Ribera del Duero remains one of the most important wine regions in Spain, as it is the spiritual home of Tempranillo, Spain’s most venerable red grape variety, and the source of many of Spain’s greatest wines. Here the iconic Tempranillo, also known locally as Tinto Fino and Tinta del País, reaches its pinnacle and demonstrates to the world its inherent virtue.

Ribera del Duero occupies the hills and high meseta to the northeast of the city of Valladolid and stretches out along the Duero River, Spain’s most beloved waterway. Not surprisingly, the region draws its name from the venerable Duero that plays an important role in the region’s terroir. It seems that the soil of Ribera del Duero bears more than a passing resemblance to that of France’s Burgundy, with a wide range of chalk, clay, marl and gravel, combined together in varying degrees of prominence. However, whereas Burgundy’s soil complexity results from plate tectonics, the soil in Ribera del Duero results from the Duero’s erosion through the sedimentary layers of the Castilian meseta. The Duero River may likely play a role as well in moderating the rather harsh continental climate of the region, an area known for its dry, hot summers and cold winters. Add altitude (2,500-3,300 feet) and the intense luminosity of the Spanish meseta to the region’s exemplary terroir, and it becomes apparent that Ribera del Duero possesses all the attributes needed to showcase the beauty of Spain’s quintessential grape variety.

Although Tempranillo provides heart and soul to nearly all the wines of Ribera del Duero, the Denominacion de Origen (DO) does permit small quantities of other grape varieties to appear in the appellation’s red wines, most notably Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and Grenache. There is, however, no requirement that Ribera del Duero contain any grape other than Tempranillo. Consequently, there is no one magic formula. However, what is certain is that worldwide demand for the great wines of Ribera del Duero will continue to grow as the cadre of astute producers in the zone continues to push the envelope on quality. Moreover, the relative value of the voluptuous red wines of Ribera del Duero is second to none. Allow the finest red wines of Ribera del Duero a few years in bottle and ample aeration prior to serving, and they will more than handsomely reward the patient imbiber.