2015 Galia "Clos Santuy" Tierra de Castilla y León

Notes

It is hard to comprehend that Ribera del Duero the official DO has only existed since 1982, but they have been making wine in this region for centuries and one of the greatest wines of all Spain, Vega Sicilia, for well over 150 years. It's also home to relatively new Producer Galia. This is Jerome Bougnaud's project—not familiar? If you like Ribera del Duero he has worked with Peter Sissek at Pingus and Quinta Sardonia. While working there he came up with his project by seeking out small old vine parcels in and around the Duero. All of his parcels are old, some almost 100 years, all have a calcareous elements to their soils, all with elevations between 750-1000 meters elevation. They are mostly Tempranillo but there is a little Garnacha and Albillo in the mix, and some are ungrafted. The raw material going into these wines is amazing. The winemaking, a small amount of new oak in 600L barrel and small portions of whole cluster, elevate and focus these wines. These are wines of purity and power with dazzling aromatics and seductive length. All of their wines are Vino de Mesa even if they could technically be Ribera del Duero. This is not a criticism of the region, but rather an elevation of the sites outside of it.