BACKGROUND
Spanish wine is widely viewed to have started to be commercially exported under Roman Rule, with demand growing steadily over the following centuries. By the 17th century, Spain experienced significant growth in exports which was further bolstered during the Phylloxera plague, with French wine production impacted most severely, many counties, including France turned to Spanish wine. Nowadays after perseverance and passion towards the terroir and vines we can taste some of the iconic grapes such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, Monastrell, Verdejo, and Albarino.
Dominio de Pingus
Pingus
Danish-born oenologist Peter Sisseck, arrived in Spain 1993, where he discovered the new home for Pingus in the Ribera del Duero region. The first vintage released was in 1995, reviewed by the Wine Advocate as one of the best Tempranillos. Having aged his early vintages in new barriques, gradually Peter abandoned this technique for the later vintages, producing a limited number of cases every year.
Vega Sicilia
Unico
Founded in 1859 by Eloy Lecanda, the property was bought in the early 1900s by the Herrero brothers. In that same period the famous winemaker Domingo Garramiola Txomin started working with Vega Sicilia introducing the Bordeaux system of ageing wine in barriques. His first vintage was the 1915 Vega Sicilia Unico. No less than 10 years is required for this complex ageing process, with the wine spending six years in wood followed by four in the bottle.
Marqués de Murrieta
Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Tinto
Owned by the Luciano de Murrieta y García-Lemoine family from 1852 it was then passed to the Cebrián-Sagarriga family in 1983. The renowned Castillo Ygay, made from Tempranillo and Mazuelo, has its own unique process of ageing, with the Tempranillo being left for three years in American oak and the Mazuelo for three years in new French oak. Once blended the wine spends one year in concrete and then three years in bottles before being released.