2018 Copel Wines Ribera del Duero

Copel Wines is the cumulation of long-standing relationships with the owner Xavier Copel and some of the best growers of Bordeaux, Southwest France and Spain. Xavier was born in Cahors and graduated as an Oenologist from the University of Toulouse. He started making wine in Cahors and at Domaine de Chevalier and finally settled in Bordeaux where he started his own Micro-Negoce and consulting business. Working extensively in these regions has allowed Xavier to form long-term partnerships with a single grower per appellation from well-sited vineyards. He produces wines from the same parcels year after year, resulting in wines that fully express the terroir with elegance and complexity. Xavier pays tribute to his ancestors by adorning his labels with one of his ancestor’s signatures.

Ribera del Duero is, in the words of wine writer Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, “the modern red wine miracle of northern Spain.” In 2012 Wine Enthusiast magazine named it the international wine region of the year. The appellation is a high, rocky plateau in north/central Spain that follows the Duero River for 60 miles before the river passes into Portugal, where it becomes the famous Douro River, then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 60,000 vineyard acres in the appellation and only red wines are produced under appellations regulations. Low rainfall, hot days, many hours of sunlight and harsh winters produce grapes of great depth and flavor. Ribera de Duero’s reputation owes much to Vega Sicilia, a 150-year old estate known both for its excellent traditional red wines and its willingness to innovate with the times. Tempranillo, known locally as Tinto Fino, is the dominant red grape in the appellation, and it is often blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or Merlot. The highly acclaimed Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez, world famous for its Tinto Pesquera, is also in Ribera del Duero. The appellation status was awarded in 1982.

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.