I love this stuff... just so good and a great price! Oh, and I have a little left of the Reserva as well...

Dominio del Aguila Picaro 2018

Sale $29.99 - Beats Best US Price Online

94 pts Wine Advocate

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.

This gem is just flat-out fun! I know, “fun” isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind when discussing the typically full-throttle (and often ponderous) wines of Ribera. It’s just that this baby is so vibrant, so alive, constantly changing and morphing through a kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors… well, it’s fun! Yet serious for sure. It’s remarkable what can be accomplished when you take the foot off the wine-making pedal a bit. James Suckling absolutely nails it in his description, “Very complex, light pink-berry aromas with baking spices, wild herbs and bright floral notes. The palate is musky and delicious with a really superb textural build and a smooth, fine and fresh blood-orange and strawberry finish.”

" This is their most approachable red, and it has the depth, concentration and nuance of the best wines from many wineries. It's produced in a more jovial style, but the wine comes from old vines that always have a field blend with small percentages of whatever grapes that are all fermented together, and these vines always produce a serious and deep wine. In 2018, it matured in French oak barrels for 11 months. This is very young and tender, expressive and aromatic, very much in line with the 2016. It has lots of energy and power, more than you might think, and it's serious. It's drinkable now, but it should get even better with some time in bottle.  WA

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. Arrives Thursday in Chapel Hill. Friday in Hillsborough.