The 2022 Mauro is a little richer and more exuberant than the 2021 I tasted next to it, but it has a balance, freshness and elegance that is remarkable for the year, which was warmer, drier and riper. The tannins didn’t achieve the same level of elegance and sophistication, but again, are superb for the conditions of the year. The parameters are similar, with the customary 14.5% alcohol. It was produced with the usual blend of 85% Tempranillo with 15% Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Graciano and matured in French oak barrels and foudres for 16 months. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2024.

The textbook red 2020 Mauro comes from a cooler year with freshness and balance. It’s powerful and ripe with 14.5% alcohol and a medium to full-bodied palate that reveals a juicy and creamy wine with very good balance and drinkability. It was produced with Tinto Fino/Tempranillo and 15% between Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, and it fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrels and foudres of different ages for 15 months. This is a very drinkable vintage of Mauro with very good balance and stuffing and, therefore, aging potential in bottle. 300,000 bottles produced and bottled in one single lot in April 2022.

2019 was a mild and dry year with 20% less rain than 2018. The 2019 Mauro was selected from their 90 hectares of organically farmed vineyards and fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. It is mostly Tempranillo with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that adds freshness and floral aromas. It’s a lighter and more approachable vintage than 2018, a more immediate wine, more approachable but in a way less complex. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2021 after 15 months in French and American oak barrels and foudres.

This wine is to be considered in the context of Ribera del Duero even if it doesn’t bear that appellation (due a long running dispute over how the appellation boundaries were drawn), and indeed it was among the stars of the region from its first appearance.  Clearly excellent in all respects, even at this young age and right from when the cork is first pulled, this will nevertheless improve for years to come.  Concentrated pigments offer a visual indication of what is to come, and the bouquet follows right in line, offering notes of ripe fruit that are very nicely balanced against spicy wood aromas.  Impressively concentrated and deeply flavored, this presents itself authoritatively on the palate, and yet is not overbearing in any respect.  Not too ripe, or extracted, or oaky, it wears its power and intensity very gracefully.  Although time in bottle will permit even more seamless integration of fruit and wood while also bringing up additional savory notes, this is an exemplary wine that demonstrates Ribera del Duero’s remarkable ability to conjure up wines that are delicious upon release or in mid-life, but that can also become something quite different and wonderful if held for a decade after the vintage.

I tasted two vintages of some of the wines, which makes for a very interesting comparison of the character of each year. The 2018 Mauro, from a cool and rainy year, is fresher than the 2019 I tasted next to it. It’s a blend of 90% Tinto Fino or Tempranillo and 5% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from certified organic vineyards, and it fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in French and American oak barrels and foudres for some 15 months. It’s serious and a bit closed, going in a way to the style of the Mauro from yesteryear, perhaps a little more floral and aromatic. It feels younger and less developed than the 2019. It’s powerful and has finesse and balance, with depth and complexity. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2020.

This plush red is packed with lots of flavors, boasting ripe raspberry reduction, anise, espresso and iron-like minerality. Toasty spice, herb and juicy cherry chime in along the juicy, structured finish. Tempranillo and Syrah. Drink now through 2030. 25,000 cases made, 500 cases imported.

Inky ruby. Primary, mineral-tinged black and blue fruits, potpourri, oak spices and woodsmoke on the highly perfumed nose. Sweet, deeply concentrated boysenberry, licorice and cherry cola flavors fan out steadily on the palate, picking up spiciness and a touch of candied flowers on the back half. Broad and youthfully chewy in texture. Finishes with excellent length and dusty tannins contributing shape and closing grip.

Based largely on Tempranillo (there are 10% other red varieties), the 2018 Mauro has a solid bouquet of mulled cherry and darker currants as well as plenty of dusty earth, baking spices, and vanilla. Medium-bodied, nicely textured, and balanced, it’s certainly an outstanding wine that I suspect will evolve gracefully for a decade.

Color: cereza intenso. Aroma: hierbas secas, roble cremoso, floral, fruta negra, fruta de hueso. Boca: fruta madura, especiado, taninos maduros, elegante.

Picota de capa alta con borde granate. Compleja y fragante vía nasal, aromas de frambuesas, grosellas, cerezas, arándanos, natas, caramelo de violetas, pétalos de rosa, sándalo, nuez moscada, vainilla, pimiento y grafito. Goloso, esqueleto bien armado, amable tanicidad, vivo y envolvente recorrido. Persistente y sápido final. Mejorará con su estancia en botella.

The 2017 Mauro, from a very challenging year, feels like a real triumph over the conditions of the harvest, as they had some zones where they didn’t have any frost. The wine feels complex and with moderate acidity. Furthermore, they now use 4,000-liter oak foudres for the élevage of part of the wine. This some tannins, and it has grip and balance, a chalky texture and a dry, serious finish. They did shorter macerations and managed to keep the freshness. They were able to keep the volume to 299,000 bottles.

Drink Date: 2020 – 2026

Frutos negros de óptima madurez, cacao, confitura de ciruela, notas cerúleas, fondo ahumado y de turba, regaliz varietal, excelente estructura y acidez, con textura y potencial.

Black fruit of optimal ripeness, cocoa, plum, preserve, waxy texture, smoked oak, peat, varietal liquorice, excellent structure and acidity, with texture and ageing potential.

Serio y de amplio espectro, con relieve y con finura. Buen balance crianza-fruta, sensación de frescura, buena intensidad. Buen equilibrio en cuerpo medio, relieve tánico amable, textura fluida, fresco, vivo.

Picota de capa alta con ribete granate. Intensa, aromática, muy frutal y floral, recuerdos de ciruela negra, moras, bizcocho, cacao, nuez moscada, sándalo, grafito, tinta china, romero, tomillo y eucalipto. Jugoso, estructurado, amplio, tanino aterciopelado y dotado de excelente frescura. Persistente y largo final con marcados recuerdos de pastelería.

Color: cereza, borde violáceo. Aroma: expresión frutal, fruta roja, floral, especias dulces, roble cremoso. Boca:  sabroso, frutoso, buena acidez, largo.

The eponymous 2016 Mauro is mostly Tempranillo (or Tinto Fino) with some Syrah from 80 hectares of different vineyards, mostly in the villages of Tudela de Duero, Traspinedo and Santibañez. It fermented in stainless steel and matured in French and American oak barrels and foudres for 15 months. 2016 is a cooler, more Atlantic and more drinkable vintage with contained ripeness, fine tannins and nice balance. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2018.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2026

Color: cereza intenso. Aroma: fruta madura, hierbas secas, roble cremoso. Boca: potente, fruta madura, especiado, taninos maduros.

Versátil, franco, fresco, fino. No muy intenso en la nariz pero muy fino, con dominio de frutas de sazón, matices discretos de crianza y fondo mineral (grafito). Cuerpo medio, centro carnoso, taninos amables, sabroso, muy buen paso de boca.

Picota con ribete granate bien cubierto. Intenso, marcados aromas de frambuesas, cerezas, florales, yogur de bayas silvestres, pimienta rosa, cacao, sándalo, grano de café y hierbas aromáticas. Jugoso, estructurado, amplio y envolvente recorrido, muy frutal y tanicidad presente de la barrica que pulirá en botella. Persistente y larga vía retronasal llena de matices.

Cropped from a dry and warm year, the 2015 Mauro has riper fruit and more of a Mediterranean character. It’ has some grainy tannins. It’s powerful and might require some more time in bottle and/or powerful food. Some 300,000 bottles produced.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2022

Profundo rojo picota. Potente y aromático, recuerdos de frambuesas, cerezas, caramelo rojo, lilas, té, chocolate con leche, madroño, laurel, lácteos, minerales y mentoles. Jugoso, estructurado, muy fresco, sensaciones de fruta de bosque en sazón y confitada (moras y fresas), lavanda, confitería, sándalo, incienso, pimienta rosa, balsámicos, cacao, pizarra… Persistente final primario y ahumado.

The red 2014 Mauro is mostly Tempranillo with some 10% Syrah from different vineyards in the villages of Tudela de Duero, Traspinedo, Santibañez and Quintanilla de Onésimo. It matured in oak for some 16 months. 2014 is a serious, balanced year, still a powerful wine but with better integrated oak. In fact, they told me they have started using 4,000-liter oak foudres for the aging of this wine and the oak feels different. There is also some earthiness coupled with the very fine tannins. This is a serious vintage of Mauro, in the house style, with very good freshness. Some 300,000 bottles produced.

Drink Date: 2017 – 2023

The 2021 VS follows the same path as the rest of the 2021s, with elegance, perfume and purity, but it has more depth than the regular Mauro and a little more concentration and tannins but with the same terrific balance and harmony that should mean a long and positive development in bottle. It’s precise and combines power with elegance like few vintages before (1996, 2001, 2018), and it has integrated oak after 26 months in French oak barrels. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2024.

Herbaceous on the nose, with hints of crushed pine and thyme. On the palate, this swathes firm, fine-grained tannins in a creamy mix of plum pudding, mandarin orange peel, mocha and graphite notes. Fresh and focused on the lingering, spiced finish. Best from 2026 through 2031.

The heady, meaty, smoky and spicy 2019 VS has an exuberant nose that’s really open, expressive and powerful, reflecting a warm and dry year with 60% less rain than the average. The grapes were picked on September 11 and 18 from the vineyards in Traspinedo and El Rosal, fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in a combination of new and used barriques for 26 months. This is a serious red for the long haul, a textbook Castilian Tempranillo with very good ripeness and power, 14.5% alcohol and generous but integrated oak that should get more and more integrated as years go by. This cuvée has a very good track record for ageability, produced by very good vineyards on sand, clay, limestone and boulder soils. 48,689 bottles produced It was bottled in January 2022.

I also tasted the 2018 VS, from a cooler and rainier year than 2017 and with an absence of frost, delivering a healthier crop with good natural concentration, finesse and harmony. This wine is sourced from two vineyards, and the grapes were fermented by vineyard in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for 26 months. This is very young and primary, with harmonious tannins but in need of time in bottle to deliver what’s inside. As with the other 2018s, this has complexity and depth; the wine is juicy, and the tannins are not hard. There is great balance and superb aging potential. 43,362 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2021.

The volume is turned up on the flavors of Kalamata olive, black fig, creamy melted licorice, mocha and Mediterranean scrub in this full-bodied red, with equal amplitude from the dense, plushly textured tannins and underscoring minerality. Lively and expressive throughout, with a cedar-laced, lingering finish. Tempranillo. Best from 2023 through 2033.

The 2017 VS was cropped from a dry year marked by spring frosts that reduced the yield and resulted in their earliest harvest to date. However, the effect of the frost here was different, as they didn’t suffer the big frost of the night of the 28th of April; the frost here was on the 1st of May and was not as severe (-2 degrees Celsius), so the grapes were from the first generation, not the second like in some places in Ribera del Duero. They picked the second week of September to preserve the freshness of the grapes and did a short maceration and soft vinification. It’s a selection from two 70-year-old vineyards in the village of Traspinedo and Tudela, and it matured in French oak barrels for 26 months. If 2017 was an atypical year, this is atypical within that: the wine is lighter, more aromatic and open with lots of finesse and elegance. It’s very approachable and one of the few VS bottlings that delivers instant gratification. A real triumph for the vintage. 43,292 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2020.

Inky violet. Powerful black and blue fruit preserve, vanilla, candied licorice and espresso aromas are enlivened by building spice and smoky mineral notes. Youthfully chewy, palate-staining blackberry, bitter cherry and spicecake flavors show impressive depth and turn sweeter through the back half. At once rich and energetic, with youthfully gripping tannins adding shape to a very long, spice-accented finish that leaves dark berry and violet pastille notes behind.

Coming from two vineyards and 100% Tempranillo, the 2017 Mauro VS Vendimia Seleccionada was aged 26 months in French oak. Loaded with blackberry, black cherry, and currant fruit as well as notes of spice and graphite, it’s full-bodied and has beautifully integrated oak, silky tannins, and a great finish. As with all these releases from Mauro, it’s a ripe, concentrated wine, yet its balance, purity, and tannins are spot on. This beautiful, elegant wine will impress for 10-15 years.

MEJOR TINTO CON CRIANZA DE LA GUÍA GOURMETS 2021.

Atractivo picota granate. Fragante y compleja vía nasal, sutiles aromas de cassis, moras, grosellas, fresas silvestres, melocotón maduro, nuez moscada, pimienta rosa, tofe, curry, laurel, tomillo, hoja de tabaco, tinta china, pizarra, infusiones, caja de puros, finos cueros, enebro y un largo etcétera. Sápido, envolvente, excelente viveza, esquelto muy bien armado, armónico y vibrante recorrido. Persistente vía retronasal plena de sensaciones. Un vino para el recuerdo.

Color: cereza intenso. Aroma: hierbas secas, roble cremoso, fruta negra, fruta madura. Boca: potente, fruta madura, especiado, taninos maduros.

The Reserva style 2016 VS is the prototype of Mauro wine—ripe and generously oaked, a wine for the long haul. It feels a bit riper than other 2016s, a little more opulent, with sweet tannins, open expressive and with some creaminess. This matured for 26 months in French oak barrels, some 80% of them new. It is a flashy expression of VS, round and generous. 42,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2019.

Drink Date:  2020 – 2030

Picota granate de capa alta. Potente, complejo, aromático, recuerdos de moras, arándanos, fresas silvestres, florales, tofe, infusiones, cacao en polvo, mina de lápiz, balsámicos, notas de coníferas, vainilla, jara… Carnoso, amplio, muy fresco; paso amplio, redondo, cremoso y envolvente. Persistente final con una larguísima retronasal.

Es intenso, vibrante, enérgico, con gran extracción de fruta y maderas nobles; desprende especiados dulces, tabaco de pipa y chocolate. Es tal el abanico de aromas que en cada giro de copa suelta un nuevo matiz. La boca es explosiva, con estructura, peso de fruta y un inmenso recorrido. De excelente acidez y un tanino hecho, queda un posgusto interminable donde la buena elección de la barrica está presente.

Frutos negros maduros, finos ahumados, cacao cremoso, regaliz y mineral (turba, grafito), ceras y barnices, excelente estructura tánica y ácida, frutillos acídulos en el paladar medio, muy largo, telúrico y profundo.

Ripe black fruit, smoky notes, creamy cocoa, licorice, minel (peat, pencil lead), wax and nail varnish nuances, excellent tannic and acid structure, sour berries in mid-palate, great length, deeply telluric.

Consistente y maduro. Aromas de frutas rojas bien maduras, notas especiadas, florales y de maderas finas, fondo mineral (arcilla). Noble vigor, con cuerpo, grado y buena estructura tánica, equilibrado, sabroso, expresivo en aromas, persistente.

Color: cereza, borde granate. Aroma: roble cremoso, cálido, fruta negra, fruta madura, especias dulces. Boca: confitado, potente, taninos dulces.

The opulent and generous 2015 VS is the reserva style bottling from Mauro and is sourced from two Tinto Fino vineyards, one in Traspinedo planted 70 years ago and a younger one (15 years old) in Tudela de Duero. The grapes from two vineyards are fermented separately in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts, and the wines matured in French and American barriques for some 26 months. It’s powerful, concentrated, round and long within the more elegant style of this wine in the Mauro portfolio. 37,570 bottles were filled in March 2018.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2028

Color: cereza intenso. Aroma: fruta madura, hierbas secas, roble cremoso, terroso, mineral. Boca: potente, fruta madura, especiado, taninos maduros.

MAGNÍFICO: MEJOR TINTO DE LA GUÍA 2019. Nariz viva, intensa, fresca y equilibrada, con aromas de frutos rojos en sazón, especiados dulces, nuez moscada, pimienta rosa, juanolas, eucaliptos, cobertura de chocolate, tinta china, grafito, carbón y un fondo de finas lacas. En boca es estructurado, fresco y vivo, con tanino vibrante, excelente acidez y un final interminable que invita a seguir bebiendo.

Finos aires mediterráneos. Aromas frutales de cierta opulencia, tonos de madurez, maderas finas, especias, mineral de hierro. Equilibrado, con cuerpo y centro graso, estructura tánica, sabroso, amplio.

Picota con ribete granate. Elegante, complejo, aromas de grosellas, cassis, sándalo, incienso, pétalos de rosas rojas, clavo, tofe, mentoles, ahumados, ceniza de puro, etc. Potente, equilibrado, sápido, vivo, sensaciones de moras en confitura, notas de pastelería, natas, maderas aromáticas bien ensambladas y minerales. Persistente final aromático.

The 2014 VS is a very elegant vintage for this bottling, with a harmonious nose, integrated oak and a polished palate that reveals great harmony and balance. A superb showing for this wine. Some 37,000 bottles produced.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2028

I also tasted the 2013 VS, which was quite a challenging vintage, but this wine ended up being the real surprise of the tasting. They didn’t produce Terreus in 2013, and most of the fruit from those vineyards ended up in the blend of this VS. It’s a lighter and very fresh vintage, very elegant and transparent, a little more austere perhaps. It was one of those years when the work was really in the vineyard and if you got it right, it could produce superb wines, as is the case here. Playing with different vineyards, they can select depending on the character of the year, for example the soils with more clay don’t work so well in cooler years, but behave better in warmer ones. All in all, it was a shorter crop and they produced less bottles than the average. Some 18,000 bottles were filled with this magnificent 2013.

Drink Date: 2017 – 2023

The 2012 VS is a special selection of Tempranillo from two plots of older vineyards, one in Transpinedo and another one Tudela de Duero (La Oliva), aged for 36 months in oak barrels (including malolactic) with a classical blend of 80% French oak and the rest American. 2012 is a warm and dry year, and the VS can be considered classical in this vintage. The wine is ripe and has taken the oak quite generously. But it does have lots of fruit and feels quite forward, with more blackberry aromas from a very accessible and lush vintage. This is creamier and very nice now, but I preferred the 2013 that I tasted side by side with it. 31,000 bottles produced.

Drink Date: 2017 – 2027

The 2021 Terreus Cima de Cueva Baja is among the finest vintages for this exceptional red from the top terrace of a vineyard at 800 meters above sea level with a specific microclimate that makes for a profound, complex, powerful and nuanced wine that is among the best in the Duero region and has a track record for longevity like very few others. The bunches are cooled down before being put through a sorting table, destemmed and transported by gravity (in an “ovi” type vat) to the stainless steel fermentation tanks, where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and went through malolactic. It matured in French oak barrels for 20 months. The good thing about these wines is that they are produced in good quantities, as there are 10,000 bottles of this. It was bottled in August 2023. It has a long life ahead of it. Bravo.

There is a subtle change in the name of their top red, and in 2020, it’s labeled as 2020 Terreus Cima de Cueva Baja. It’s from a slightly cooler year with fine-boned wines, and it’s aromatic, fresh and elegant with lots of depth and layers of aromas that peel off with time in the glass. The parameters of alcohol and acidity are quite similar to the 2019 that I tasted next to it, but the aromatic profile and mouthfeel are different. Here, the oak feels more integrated, and the wine is more fluid and with more elegance and nuance. 9,993 bottles were filled in August 2022.

The 2019 Terreus Paraje de Cueva Baja was cropped from a warm and dry year with very good ripeness and a healthy crop that kept very good acidity. It’s a powerful and seductive red with power and clout but also elegance and balance. The grapes fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and day pumping-overs followed by malolactic in oak and 20 months in new and used French oak barrels. It’s approachable and quite complete, keeping the balance, freshness and poise. 9,060 bottles were filled in August 2021.

The 2018 Terreus Paraje de Cueva Baja was cropped from a cool vintage when the vineyard saw some snow and a slow ripening of the grapes, which were harvested on the 16th of September under perfect conditions. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and daily pump-overs, followed by malolactic in barrel and 20 months in French barrique. There is a lot of purity in this wine, and it shows the effect of the cooler year. They are increasing the percentage of used barrique, and the oak feels better integrated. It’s a very serious wine, with depth, complexity and persistence. I think there’s more and more effect from the limestone soils in the wine (texture!) as the élevage marks the wine is a softer way. This is among the finest vintages of Terreus. 10,066 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2020.

This vibrant, harmonious red is tightly meshed at first, slowly unfurling on the palate to show an enticing range of cherry and strawberry reduction, medicinal herb, mocha and spiced orange notes. The chalky tannins are fine, providing a taut, well-defined frame and firming the minerally finish. Tempranillo. Best after 2024.

Rojo picota de capa alta. Intenso, complejo, aromas de casis, ciruelas negras maduras, fresas silvestres, sándalo, mentoles, incienso, finos ahumados, cacao en polvo, vainilla, mina de lápiz, caja de puros, flores azules, etc. Potente, esqueleto bien armado, notable carga frutal, gran viveza y equilibrado ensamblaje de sus nobles maderas que le otorgan elegancia en su recorrido. Larguísima retronasal. Un vino para la guarda.

I also tasted the 2017 Terreus Paraje de Cueva Baja, which had amazing balance even after only one month after bottling. There is amazing finesse and balance, the oak is beautifully integrated and the wine is floral and terribly pleasant. They did a softer vinification with a shorter maceration, and they used less new oak. It all paid off. This has to be among the finest 2017s from the Duero zone. 9,900 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2019.

Drink Date: 2021 – 2030

Inky ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, Moroccan spices and floral pastilles, along with suggestions of cola, licorice and smoky minerals. Shows a suave blend of depth and energy to the sharply focused black raspberry, cherry vanilla, star anise and candied violet flavors, which deepen and become sweeter with aeration. Well-knit tannins add grip to a penetrating finish that leaves behind notes of dark berry preserves and spicecake.

The flagship 2017 Terreus Paraje De Cueva Baja checks in as 100% Tempranillo, sourced from a handful of top sites, that spent 20 months in French oak. It has a fabulous sense of elegance and purity as well as full-bodied richness, assorted blacker fruits, and complex notes of graphite, crushed stone, spice box, and violets. It offers ample concentration, yet it shines just as much for its purity of fruit, silky tannins, and flawless balance. It’s already impossible to resist but has the balance and structure to evolve for 15 years or more.

This supple red shows good concentration, with plush layers of cherry compote, violet, cola and anise that are intermixed with loamy earth, clove and herb details. Good depth and focus. Drink now through 2033.

Color: cereza muy intenso. Aroma: complejo, expresivo, mineral, fruta negra, especies dulces. Boca: elegante, lleno, largo, persistente.

Estructurado, vigoroso. Profundo en la nariz, sensación de unidad y profundidad, muchos matices sobre base de frutos negros maduros. Con cuerpo y centro carnoso, relieve tánico bien marcado pero no rudo, equilibrado, sabroso, amplio.

Atractivo, picota con ribete violáceo. Intensa y fragante vía nasal, recuerdos de frambuesas, arándanos, lavanda, nuez moscada, canela, vainilla, balsámicos, paloduz, grafito, betún, sándalo, incienso, notas de confitería, romero, tomillo, tierra húmeda, té rojo, boletus, etc. Potente, carnoso, de gran solidez, envolvente, tanino dulce y goloso, excelente equilibrio entre las notas frutales y de sus nobles maderas. Persistente y larga vía retronasal frutal, especiada y mineral. Perfecta expresión de terruño.

The 2016 Terreus Paraje de Cueva Baja had a rare combination of power and elegance, concentration and freshness. 2016 has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine, with great balance, freshness, ripe and round tannins with very good grip. This went through malolactic in barrique where the wine matured until it was bottled, always two winters after the harvest. Nothing has changed here, origin, vinification or élevage, so what differences you see are due to the vintage. I tasted it next to the 2017. It has length and very good freshness, with great finesse. 9,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2018.

Drink Date: 2021 – 2036

Picota de capa alta con ribete violáceo. Complejo, aromático, elegantes recuerdos de bayas silvestres, laurel, lavanda, pétalos de rosa, grafito, pimienta, infusiones, cacao en polvo, fresas en confitura, notas de pastelería, etc. Sedoso, gran viveza, amplio, estructurado, primario, equilibradas sensaciones frutales, especiadas, chocolateadas, mentoladas, minerales. Persistente vía retronasal. De larga vida.

Grande, noble fuerza, fresco. Nariz amplia y profunda, concentrado aromas de frutos silvestres, tonos de especias negras, maderas finas, trufa negra y tinta, estructurado, con cuerpo y nervio, sólido, equilibrado, sabroso, expresivo, largo, fino.

The single-vineyard red 2015 Terreus Paraje de Cueva Baja is pure Tempranillo from a warm and dry year. It’s produced with a mixture of old and younger vines in the village of Tudela de Duero, El Almendro and La Senda. This ages exclusively in French oak barriques, and the élevage lasts some 20 months. This is the one of the 2015s less marked by the vintage, keeping the freshness, balance and floral aromas; it’s open and expressive, with a super elegant palate with fine tannins and elegant acidity. It’s soft and polished within its powerful style. Another great vintage for Terreus. This was really singing the day I tasted it. 8,830 bottles were filled in September 2017.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2030

Atractivo rojo picota de gran capa. Intenso, complejo, elegante, recuerdos de fruta roja y negra silvestre, flores azules, minerales, chocolate con leche, hoja de puro, sándalo, incienso, grafito, finos ahumados, pastelería (hojaldres), café, etc. Envolvente, sápido, de gran estructura, paso goloso y aterciopelado, sensaciones de frambuesas, arándanos, fresas silvestres, moras, cacao, maderas aromáticas perfectamente integradas, caramelo, yogur, té rojo, monte bajo, hojarasca, mina de lápiz, ceniza de puro… Persistente y seductora vía retronasal. De largo recorrido en botella.

There is no 2013, so we jumped to the single-vineyard red 2014 Terreus Pago de Cueva Baja. It is pure Tempranillo from a mixture of old and younger vines in the village of Tudela de Duero. 2014 is a very hedonistic, complete and elegant vintage of Terreus, bottled in September 2016 after some 20 months in barrel. It’s balanced and powerful, with sweet spices and a lactic touch. I think it has the ingredients and balance to age nicely in bottle and in a way it reminded me of the 1996. It has sweet tannins and a very pleasant mouthfeel, terribly balanced with the freshness of red fruit rather than black. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled a little earlier than in previous vintages and they also used less new oak, which to me translated into greater precision in the wine.

Drink Date: 2017 – 2034

A varietal white from Bierzo from Villafranca del Bierzo and Valtuille de Arriba, the 2022 Godello fermented in new and used 500-liter barrels, where the wine matured with the lees for 10 months. 2022 was warmer, riper and lower yielding, and the wines have higher ripeness and more body and development, while keeping the alcohol at 13% and a low pH of 3.1. This is creamy and spicy, and the palate shows more restraint and austerity, with some oak flavors to be integrated with a little more time in bottle.

Their one white comes from Bierzo (mainly Villafranca del Bierzo), and the 2021 Godello was cropped from an Atlantic, cooler vintage with moderate temperatures and enough rain throughout the growing season. The grapes went through a 12-hour cold soak, and the juice then fermented in new and used 500-liter French oak barrels where the wine matured with the lees for 10 months before it was bottled. It has 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.1 denoting very good freshness. It has ripeness but without excess, with varietal notes of yellow fruit, flowers and a touch of pollen, smoke and spices. It has a round palate with clarity and definition, long, tasty and with a dry and varietal finish with a note of quince. 12,628 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2022.

The one white here, the 2019 Godello was produced with grapes from the Bierzo zone, also in Castilla y León, but far away from their reds. They planted a massal selection in different vineyards in the village of Villafranca del Bierzo at 700 meters in altitude on very poor sandy soils with decomposed slate. It fermented in 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine matured with the lees for nine months. The wine has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.2. It’s the most approachable and fruit-driven of the years they have produced. It’s quite round, with white and yellow fruit, and didn’t go through malolactic fermentation. The oak is neatly folded into the fruit, and it’s tender and polished, quite easy to understand. 8,713 bottles were filled in July 2020.

Amarillo dorado. Aromático, recuerdos de pera de agua, ciruela madura, melocotón, nuez moscada, vainilla, cedro, flores blancas, toques minerales y monte bajo. Fresco, untuoso en su ataque, complejo y envolvente recorrido. Persistente final con apuntes calcáreos.

The one white produced here, of which the current vintage is the 2018 Godello, was made with grapes from Bierzo but sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. This is aromatic and expressive, showing the varietal profile, with nicely integrated oak. It fermented very slowly in 500-liter used oak barrels, where the wine is kept with the full lees until bottling. There are notes of yellow fruit, with good ripeness and volume, opulent with very good freshness. It finishes very tasty and salty. 8,500 bottles were filled in July 2019.

Drink Date: 2020 – 2024

Color: pajizo. Aroma: fruta madura, hierbas secas, flores marchitas, especiado. Boca: potente, fruta madura, equilibrado.

Joven, para guardar. Nariz sobria, sugestiva, directa; dominan recuerdos de frutas de hueso maduras y un toque de almendra cruda. Equilibrado, con cuerpo y textura glicérica en el centro, bien ajustada acidez, seco, suave, sabroso, frutal.

Pajizo verdoso brillante. Aromático, intenso, recuerdos de pera de agua, ciruela amarilla, flores secas, hinojo, citronella, piedra de río, mentolados, romero, tomillo, pimienta blanca y mantequilla. Complejo, sabroso, estructurado, amplio, dotado de excelente equilibrio, marcado carácter mineral y persistente final muy fresco.

Singular, más sobrio que exuberante, fino. Aromas de fruta blanca madura y marcados tonos minerales (sílex, fósforo), notas florales y de membrillo. Muy buen equilibrio en la boca, con cuerpo y nervio, suave, seco, sabroso, franco en aromas.

The white 2016 Godello was produced with grapes from vines grown within the Bierzo appellation, but it’s sold with the more generic Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León appellation. It fermented and matured in oak barrels, and in 2016, it has contained alcohol and low pH, which translates into good freshness and an austere, serious mouthfeel. It has the grape’s aromatics and a lively mouthfeel, very tasty. It’s a lighter and fresher year, when they used more used oak, a year of higher yields and less alcohol. 5,354 bottles were filled in June 2017.

Drink Date: 2018 – 2023

The 2015 Godello was produced with grapes from a young vineyard planted in El Bierzo at 700 meters altitude. It fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels where it aged in contact with the lees for eight months, but didn’t go through malolactic fermentation. It’s sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. It has a little less new oak than previous vintages, as they are reusing the barrels from previous years. 2015 is a slightly warmer year with lower acidity and the fermentation was painfully slow. It’s still quite oaky, with a mixture of dry flowers, herbs, fennel and aniseed. It follows the same line started from the initial vintage, with good volume, a powerful wine, with good freshness (it has a pH of 3.1 or so). They produce this wine from two plots totaling two hectares that they will start farming organically from 2017 onward. 3,900 bottles.

Drink Date: 2017 – 2020

The 2014 Godello was bottled in late June 2014. The grapes were harvested earlier (September 6th) to keep the acidity, and they didn’t put it through malolactic. The grapes are from El Bierzo, but the wine is sold without appellation. The grapes are pressed and the must fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels, where it aged in contact with the lees for nine months. The nose mixes lots of aromas of lees and yeasts with white and yellow fruit and some flowers. The palate is light to medium-bodied and combines volume with great acidity, precision and focus with a very tasty finish. This is a great Godello from two plots, one on slate and clay soils and another one with a mixture of slate and rolling stones; the wine certainly has a minerality strike. With this acidity and pH, the wine should age in bottle nicely. 3,700 bottles produced.

In fact, the 2013 Godello was about to be bottled when I met with Eduardo and Alberto Garcia to taste their wines and they presented this white, something they had been hoping to do for a while. It is a barrel-fermented and aged white produced with white Godello grapes grown in El Bierzo, but sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon that will be offered together with the reds as “the white Mauro.” The grapes come from a young vineyard they planted with sticks from Valdeorras, which are located at 700 meters altitude and where harvested relatively early in such late, Atlantic vintage as 2013 to preserve acidity. The must fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels where it aged in contact with the lees for eight months, but didn’t go through malolactic fermentation (it has a pH of 3.1). It has a clean nose with aromas of white and yellow fruit with yeasty aromas of bread dough, with elegance and harmony. The palate is light-bodied, delineated, austere, sharp and dry, with laser-like precision, great acidity and clean flavors ending mineral, even saline in character. This is a superb Godello, the first white produced by Mariano Garcia. Only 1,200 bottles were produced in this first vintage and the price had not yet been decided. We’ll have to see how this wine ages in bottle, but the balance and acidity point at a good evolution. Drink now-2018. Mauro continues producing powerful, concentrated, well-oaked and true to their birthplace reds, but the big news is that with the 2013 they will release their first ever white wine! It will be a Godello from grapes grown at El Bierzo, but it will be sold, like their reds, as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon.

Drink Date: 2014 – 2018