2011 Cosecha Crianza

I tasted three breathtaking wines, starting with the 2011 Crianza which is, year in, year out, one of the best crianzas from Ribera del Duero. It is a blend of mostly Tempranillo with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec, and I wonder if the combination of grapes has something to do with the extra dimension and complexity that I often find in this wine. The vineyards are planted on the chalky slopes of this chateau-style winery which is surrounded by vineyards outside the village of Pesquera de Duero. The same time as some 6% of the whole cluster began going into the fermentation vats, also started using around 10% 500-liter barrels for the aging of the wine. For Sisseck, 2011 marks the end of an era, the end of high alcohol, but it all comes from the work in the vineyards improving on the balance, adapting yields to the character of the vintage. It has an explosive nose, with ripe, hedonistic aromas and the wood perfectly integrated into the wine. The palate is only medium to full-bodied, dense, glyceric, with polished tannins, and clean, with delineated flavors, not heavy and with the alcohol perfectly integrated and unnoticable. This is a big Ribera which feels light on its feet; a gentle giant, a triumph for the vintage. A curious 166,600 bottles were produced in 2011. Drink now-2019. Hacienda Monasterio is the day job of Peter ‘Pingus’ Sisseck. He arrived in 1990 after he finished working with his uncle Peter Vinding-Diers in Bordeaux and he had a little time before going to California to work for Ridge. So he was there to fill a few months. The vineyards for Hacienda Monasterio had been recently planted, but only the American rootstocks had been done, so he managed to get some plant material from Vega Sicilia and from another old vineyard in Roa to plant. He had no idea he’d stay, but the finca (estate) was sold to some investors in December and in April they started building the winery. During the first three years they had to buy grapes while their plants matured. In 1993 and 1994 he started thinking of his own project Pingus, at around the same time when Hacienda Monasterio started using its own grapes for their wines. 1995 was the first vintage produced 100% with their own grapes – a blend that was quite similar to what they had in Vega Sicilia. After some time he realized Merlot does not really work there (it works perhaps one year in ten, they did a varietal wine, Kempis in 1999 that is fantastic) and they are in the process of replacing it. Sisseck feels the vineyard finally came of age at around 2007-2008 when the wines has seen great improvement. He’s seen the vineyard grow and mature and seen the different phases: the four years, the 12, and when the plants are 20 years. They have recently bought more land that was touching the original vineyards, because Hacienda Monasterio is a single-vineyard wine and they want to keep that way. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

I tasted three breathtaking wines, starting with the 2011 Crianza which is, year in, year out, one of the best crianzas from Ribera del Duero. It is a blend of mostly Tempranillo with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec, and I wonder if the combination of grapes has something to do with the extra dimension and complexity that I often find in this wine. The vineyards are planted on the chalky slopes of this chateau-style winery which is surrounded by vineyards outside the village of Pesquera de Duero. The same time as some 6% of the whole cluster began going into the fermentation vats, also started using around 10% 500-liter barrels for the aging of the wine. For Sisseck, 2011 marks the end of an era, the end of high alcohol, but it all comes from the work in the vineyards improving on the balance, adapting yields to the character of the vintage. It has an explosive nose, with ripe, hedonistic aromas and the wood perfectly integrated into the wine. The palate is only medium to full-bodied, dense, glyceric, with polished tannins, and clean, with delineated flavors, not heavy and with the alcohol perfectly integrated and unnoticable. This is a big Ribera which feels light on its feet; a gentle giant, a triumph for the vintage. A curious 166,600 bottles were produced in 2011. Drink now-2019. Aug 2014, www.robertparker.com