2016 Ausàs "Interpretación" Ribera del Duero
SKU #1487194
95 points
Decanter
An exceptional first vintage, from a winemaker who knows Ribera del Duero intimately and understands blending. Dark fruit, liquorice and blueberry aromatics, not in the least oaky. Elegant, pure and refined overall. Fine-grained tannin adds texture and interest, overlaid by black fruits and running through the palate is the keynote freshness of this producer's philosophy. ‘This wine is a keeper,’ says winemaker Xavier Ausás, ‘a minimum of 15 years.’ Drinking Window 2021 - 2031 (JE)
(2/2020)
95 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In its first year, the 2016 Interpretación is Tempranillo from over 40-year-old head-pruned vines on sand, clay and limestone soils with plenty of stones at 900 meters in altitude. It went through a cold soak and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and concrete vats. It matured for 16 months in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels, 40% of them new. I was blown away by the wine in bottle, after tasting the 2017 in barrel. This is Ausás's interpretation of Ribera del Duero after 30 years of experience. He's sourcing grapes from specific growers that he has known for a long time, as he had purchased grapes for Alión from many of them. The wine shows the character of Ribera, a chalky backbone of fine-grained tannins, coated by fruit and berries, an herbal, spicy touch and perfectly integrated oak. There is good freshness, a rare combination of elegance and power and superb balance. My guess is the wine should develop nicely and for a very long time in bottle. 20,200 bottles, 495 magnums, 50 double magnums and five imperials were filled in May 2018. Javier Ausás, who was winemaker at Vega Sicilia between 1998 and July 2015, started consulting for some other wineries when he left that job, and he also started his own solo project. I tasted his first vintage, 2016, in his small winery in Quintanilla de Onésimo, one single Ribera del Duero red. (LG)
(8/2018)
K&L Notes
Ausàs is a new project from Javier Ausàs. While most of us in the states are not familiar with him we definitely know his work, he was the head winemaker at Vega Sicilia and the technical director for their other properties for the last 17 years. With over 23 working at Vega Sicilia Javier has a deep understanding of the region, it’s vineyards and Tempranillo. This wine, the only wine he makes for this project is a blend of several plots from across the region as to get the broadest range of aspects from Tempranillo, lighter soils, higher elevation plots, plots with more clay and others that are real chalky. This is a wine of beauty and power, just as you would expect.
