Ribera del Duero is a singular place, a region where conventional wisdom would say that viticulture is impossible. The rainfall each year wouldn’t be enough for unirrigated vines were it not for the sandy topsoils that allow water to pass through and be stored in more alluvial sedimentation down below. In this dry and arid region, soaring daytime temperatures come crashing down as soon as the sun sets, preserving the precious acidity of the local Tempranillo clone, Tinta del País. 

Located in Peñafiel, the historic heart of the Ribera del Duero DO, Pago de Carraovejas was founded in 1987 by a group of wine-lovers from nearby Segovia. It is, like many estates in this high-desert environment, a dramatic landscape, with a vast tract of vineyards that climbs in spots to 900 meters of elevation. Today, they have 160 hectares of grapevines in production, with a stunning modern winery perched amid the plots. Many of the vineyards at Pago de Carraovejas occupy steep, narrow terraces in soils rich in limestone, which turn white during the (mostly) dry growing season. 

This wine gets the full Bordeaux-inspired treatment: fermentation on ambient yeasts in stainless steel, malolactic fermentation in large oak vats, then aging for 12 months in a combination of French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels. An opaque ruby-black in the glass, it’s a full-bore explosion of fruit and earth, with aromas/flavors of tiny dark woodland berries (mulberry, blueberry, black currant), damp violet, pencil lead, espresso grounds, cocoa powder, roasted meat, and dusty earth. It is full-bodied and concentrated but also lively and lifted, with lots of stony minerality and well-integrated oak. This is a red wine for red meat, best served cool (60 degrees) after a lengthy decant.