Senda del Oro

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Juan Carlos Vizcarra, known for his intensity and ambition, was the first in his family to produce estate-bottled wine in northern DO Ribera del Duero, starting in 1991. His family has grown grapes in the region for over four generations. As a boy, he noticed that prestigious estates like Vega Sicilia and Pesquera sourced fruit from his family's vineyards during poor vintages, highlighting their exceptional quality. Motivated by this, Juan Carlos began crafting wines to express their unique terroir and heritage. At Bodegas Vizcarra, the Senda del Oro is made using gravity-fed winemaking to preserve the freshness and elegance of the limestone-rich vineyards in northern Burgos. The name refers to the "golden mile," a local road connecting the famed estates of the appellation. Juan Carlos meticulously manages every facet of the winemaking process, farming by hand without chemicals to express the land's natural elegance and freshness. Oak is used to frame the fruit, supporting its power and freshness. While Senda del Oro is Vizcarra’s entry-level wine, it is crafted with the same exacting standards as his flagship wines, demonstrating world-class Ribera quality.

WHAT MAKES THIS WINE UNIQUE?

A pure, elegant expression of Ribera del Duero, Senda del Oro exemplifies the freshness and minerality of the region through gravity-fed winemaking and meticulous attention to detail, avoiding the over-extraction common in many Ribera del Duero wines.

RATING HISTORY:

2022 93W&S, 91TA; 2021 93WE, 91TA; 2019 90WA; 2018 90+WA, 90W&S; 2017 90WA

GRAPE:

100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). Vines planted in 1950-1998. Tended in limestone and sandy soil at 849 m (2,785 ft) elevation.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:

Grilled pork and lamb are natural pairs for the generous fruit and acidity of Ribera del Duero, particularly flavored with woody herbs like rosemary and thyme.

VINIFICATION AND AGING:

After careful selection, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. Maceration lasts 14 days. Fermentation is carried out in stainless steel tanks and malolactic takes place in barrels. The wine is aged for 7 months in French and American oak barrels that are 2 years old. Relatively short aging in used barrels allows the wine to oxygenate and become softer and rounder without the added wood tannins of barrels. This method lets the wine retain its fresh, youthful fruit characters.

LOCATION, SOIL, CLIMATE:

The vineyards are located in the town of Mambrilla, at 849 meters (2,785 ft.) elevation. This town is in the northern central Ribera del Duero DO, within Burgos in Castilla y León. For soils, out of the 11 parcels farmed, they are predominantly sand, clay, limestone and gravel. The vines in these parcels were planted in 1987. Juan Carlos reduces yields by thinning grape clusters from 20 to 8 per vine, and by allowing other foliage to flourish around the vines to absorb the excessive water and nutrients from the soil. An extreme Continental climate, with cool nights and hot days with moderately low rainfall, provides a longer ripening period, and results in wines with greater complexity and more expressive, intense aromas. Harvest usually begins the first week of October and ends by mid-month.

TASTING NOTES:

Ruby-red. Mineral-tinged raspberry, incense and floral pastille scents pick up a spicy accent with air. Juicy, sweet and seamless in texture, offering concentrated red fruit and spicecake flavors that put on weight as the wine opens up. The spice and floral notes carry through a long, energetic, focused finish shaped by silky, even tannins.-- Josh Raynolds.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:

14.5%

UPC CODE:

810411011034

BOTTLE WEIGHT:

.99 lbs (.45 kg)