2011 Bodegas y Vinedos Valderiz Ribera del Duero

Resisting “Funny Money” Temptation in Ribera del Duero

We called it “funny money.” Less than a year after the Common Market was formed, Europe’s central bank turned on the faucet. Millions of euros poured into Spain’s vineyards and bodegas. The intent was noble, but for the most part, the results were lackluster.

When we visited Ribera del Duero, Rioja, and Toro in 2010, we discovered countless young-vine plantings, all meticulously trellised to Bordelais standards. Everything seemed hunky-dory until we trotted out our high school Spanish and began talking to both the old-timers and the most inventive growers in each region.

To quickly capitalize on the new investment, we were told, most of the new plantings were situated close to the river, where the soils were richer and irrigation systems could be installed at low cost. The traditional “gobelet” bush plants were nowhere to be found, as these — like the old-vine Zinfandel of California and the ancient-vine Grenache of Châteauneuf-du-Pape — were far more tedious and expensive to tend. The young vines “looked” great, but as Spanish wine collectors quickly learned, the wines drawn off those vineyards were often simple, lacking the complexity one expects from top-notch Ribera del Duero and Rioja.

Despite the temptation of the central bank’s “funny money,” a handful of Ribera del Duero’s finest growers opted to stay the course, continuing to dry-farm their bush plants by hand and eschewing all use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. Not surprisingly, Tomás Esteban led the charge.

The 170 acres of vineyards at Bodega y Viñedos Valderiz are divided into 35 blocks, each farmed distinctly according to exposition and soil type. Grafted from the property’s oldest-vine cuttings, all the plants are organically farmed “gobelet” bushes, encouraging root penetration meters deep into the substrata. That profound root structure allowed these magnificent dry-farmed Tempranillo plants to shrug off the hydric stress of the hottest summer in recent history and flourish like never before.

Despite the extreme heat of the summer of 2011, Tomás Esteban’s Tempranillo ripened effortlessly, with little sign of shrivel or desiccation. As a result, the call to harvest was delayed until the last week of September, with the last Tempranillo plants not picked until the end of the first week of October. Natural sugar readings were never higher, even as total acidity remained miraculously in check.

The 2011 Bodegas y Viñedos Valderiz Ribera del Duero is dark purple in hue. Explosive aromas of black cherry, raspberry, anise, and graphite, with a hint of balsamic. Exceedingly dense and rich, with palate-staining concentration and intensity, almost chewy in texture, packed with crushed red- and black-fruit preserves, finishing with classic dusty tannin backbone. Drink now-2024.

$33 on release. Just $28 today for one of just 12 under-$35 reds rated 94 points or more by Wine Spectator in the last DECADE. Shipping included on 6.

• ABV 14.90%
• Enjoy right away
• % Tempranillo