1996 Abadia Retuerta Pago Negralada, 6-bottle Lot, Wood Case

Abadía Retuerta is centered around a 12th century monastery on the banks of the Duero River. Wine has been made at the estate ever since, first by monks and later by other owners. Today the 180-acre estate is owned by the chemical multinational firm Novartis and it makes numerous wines under several labels. Wine Advocate has called them “modern, concentrated wines…”

Castilla y León, as this region is called in Spanish, is a large region in northeastern Spain that includes nearly twenty percent of Spain’s total land. It encompasses eight provinces and five appellations. The best known of the appellations is Ribera del Duero, though the appellations Toro and Bierzo are also gaining international reputations for fine wine. The region is largely a high, flat plateau and red grapes account for much of what is grown in Ribera del Duero. The other appellations are Rueda, known for white wine, and Cigales. Bierzo is known for the full flavored white wine Godello.

Think leather and cherries together for Tempranillo wines. This wine looks lighter than it is. It can be medium or full bodied, but its thin-skinned, big grapes, give it a more transparent appearance. It is grown in Spain, Portugal, the U.S. and Australia.