Placeholder Image

Alfredo Maestro, Tejero, 'Castrilla del Duero'

Castilla y León, Spain 2013 (750mL)
$27.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Alfredo Maestro, Tejero, 'Castrilla del Duero'


Alfredo Maestro Tejero is one of the more focused and intense Spanish growers I’ve met. The polar opposite of most Spanish winemakers I have met, his engagement and laser-like focus on his own work is evident as he seems completely possessed by his own curiosity about farming and wine. This same zeal and obsessive nature is what makes Alfredo’s wines unique. He is completely content to do everything the hard way. Alfredo spends much of each day traversing steep hillsides in his beat up jeep where he farms some of the highest elevation vineyards in this part of Spain: 3,000-4,000 feet. Equally zealous in the abstinence from chemicals and modern winemaking technology, this wine is never filtered or fined and is bottled entirely without sulfur. Alfredo’s cellar is not even temperature controlled. Suffice it to say, this is as natural as winemaking gets in the Ribera del Duero and Alfredo's dedicated technique allows the wine to show its pure expression of place.

Today’s wine, Alfredo’s 2013 “Castrilla del Duero” bottling originates from a single, extremely high elevation vineyard. La Ladera is over 3,000 feet in the municipality of Burgos, Ribera del Duero. The vineyard and its mineral poor clay-loam soils are home to a few small rows of ancient, gnarled 70 year-old Tempranillo (aka “Tinto Fino” in this region) vines. Alfredo harvest the clusters by hand, 20% of the fruit is left in whole cluster, while the remainder is destemmed then the wine is naturally fermented in steel vat. The maceration lasts 12-15 days, and the resulting wine is aged in a medium sized neutral oak cask for a 1 year. The wine is then bottled and spends an additional 6-8 months in bottle aging until release.

In the glass, the 2013 Alfredo Maestro Tejero “Castrillo del Duero” is a trip down memory lane to the golden era of Spanish red wine.  The wine is obviously unfiltered and has an opaque, dark ruby core that is already beginning to tint blood orange at the rim. Aromas of black cherry preserve, smoked meat, raw cocoa, fresh baked gingerbread and pipe tobacco erupt from the glass—there is no need to decant this instantly gratifying wine. On the palate, this bottle is just fantastic. It possesses impressive concentration, length, and power, but not in a way that fatigues the palate or deadens one’s appetite.  It somehow manages to stay mouth watering and rich at the same time. This is no small feat, and it is a direct result of Alfredo’s effort in his vineyards, plus his impressive restraint in the cellar. This is a phenomenal wine to drink today, out of a large Bordeaux stem. I’ve also tasted this cuvée from numerous past vintages and I can attest to its impressive cellarability (correct temperature and light is key). I would encourage you to drink one bottle now and perhaps put a few away for cellaring until 2020. Milk-fed suckling lamb ribs are the classic dish in Alfredo’s village but I know better than to send you hunting for that impossible-to-find ingredient. So, I will suggest a very close second—Legendary Philadelphia chef José Garcés’ famous lamb with sauce romesco. Cheers!
Placeholder Image
Country
Spain
Region
Castilla y León
Sub-Region
SpainRibera del Duero
Soil
Loam
Farming
Organic
Blend
Tempranillo
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Mostly Neutral French

Spain

Eastern Spain

Montsant

The Montsant DO is Priorat’s downslope neighbor in northeastern
Spain, but other than differences in altitude, there isn’t much else to tell their terroirs apart. Both appellations contain some of the world’s greatest old-vine Garnacha (Grenache) in soils of fractured granite and shale known locally as llicorella. It is a Mediterranean climate, with wide diurnal temperature swings.

Eastern Spain

Penedès

Technically, a wine labeled ‘Cava’ can be produced in several different regions, but Penedès, on Spain’s northern Mediterranean coast, is its
spiritual home. The climate is Mediterranean, the soils a favorable mix of limestone (key in pre-serving acids), sand, and clay, and Cava sparklers are crafted in the traditional ‘Champagne’ method. The traditional grapes used for Cava are Xarel-lo (cha-RAY-yo), Macabeu, and Parellada.

Northwestern Spain

Galicia

Galicia is lusher, colder, wetter, and greener than most of the rest of Spain, especially where wine-growing
is concerned. Viticulture up here is some of the most “heroic” in the world, as vineyards cling to impossibly steep slopes along snaking rivers such as the Miño and
the Sil. The influence of the Atlantic Ocean is profound, often lending wines a salty, “sea spray” character.

Others We Love