I grabbed a handful of these for myself last Fall. Wow! They lived up to the billing and then some! Better than $125 bottles I have had... and if you are a Cali Cabernet Sauvignon fan, you really owe it to yourself to give one of these a shot...

Dominio del Aguila Reserva 2016

Sale $69.99 - Beats Best US Price Online

97 pts Wine Advocate / 96 pts Penin Guide

" It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero." WA

One of the newest estates in Ribera del Duero, Dominio del Águila, was founded by Jorge Monzón and Isabel Rodero in 2010. Located in the village of La Aguilera, Jorge farms 30 hectares of vines organically with ongoing experiments with biodynamics. Like his neighbors, he relies primarily on the Tempranillo grape for his wines. Beyond that, all other similarities end.

At Dominio del Águila there is no Cabernet Sauvignon, no Merlot and certainly no Malbec or Petit Verdot, instead Jorge relies on Bobal, Garnacha, Tempranillo Gris and Albillo to add complexity to his wines. The vineyards are all over fifty years in age, and located on sandy and rocky clay soils.

Jorge comes from a family with a long tradition of growing grapes and making wines. He has studied in Bordeaux and Burgundy and has worked at both Domaine Romanée-Conti at Vega Sicilia. His studies and travels taught him several important things: the importance of organic farming, an appreciation of old-vines, a desire for elegance and transparency and all the skills necessary to combine these ideas to make remarkable wines.

Jorge and his wife Isabel, who is an architect, have renovated an ancient cellar in the village of La Aguilera dating to the 15th century. They installed concrete tanks for fermentation and placed a barrel room in the coldest part of the subterranean cellar.   Natural yeast co-fermentations are the first step in the process with pigeage done by foot. After primary fermentation the wines are placed in French oak for malo and aging. With such cold temperatures in the barrel room, the evolution of the aging wines proceeds  slowly, allowing for the development of greater complexity and nuance. - Importer Note


Or reply. Available Thursday in both stores as ordered.