Bodegas Los Astrales Astrales Ribera del Duero 2019

A fantastic Tempranillo from the highly respected team at Astrales. 

Decanter’s 97 point review captures the exciting and deeply enjoyable character of this 2019 testament to Spain’s most iconic drink. But we want to call your attention to this little comment James Suckling made back when he gave the Ribera del Duero 94 points: “This will age nicely. Drinkable now, but better after 2024.” Well here we are a couple years later, in the sweet spot! And not only did you get to skip the tedious aging time and shelf space, but you’re getting it at an exceptional price.

The nose is really quite something. A vivid surge of black cherry, cassis, candied violet, and cedar that could make you do a double take – and definitely a triple sniff. The palate delivers in full: more cherry, anise, dark chocolate, crushed rock, Castelvetrano olives, a whisper of Manchego rind, with a long, mineral finish. It’s polished and commanding, but with that little rustic aspect that makes it abundantly clear this is a beloved, long-honed grape expressing its native land. 

Bodegas Los Astrales is a three-generation family operation in Anguix, a small village on the high-altitude meseta of Castilla y León in north-central Spain – Tempranillo country at its most serious. Their 29 hectares of old-bush vines, some exceeding 80 years of age, are overseen by technical director José Hidalgo Togores, a revered professor and author of the definitive textbook on Spanish winemaking – he's one of the most respected figures in the country's wine ecosystem.