For these unfamiliar with the Vino de Pago qualification, it was created in Spain in 2003 to certify singular estates (pagos) as Protected Denominations of Origin. Whereas not a requisite, it’s typically carried out by particular person wineries seeking to achieve protected standing for a single winery web site inside their area.
That is the case for Abadía Retuerta which is an property of 700ha, of which 180ha is planted to vine. Whereas positioned throughout the Duero Valley, the positioning resides throughout the borders of Sardón de Duero, simply to the west of Quintanilla de Onésimo, the municipality forming one in every of DO Ribera del Duero’s borders. As such, Abadía Retuerta is simply exterior the DO and has been producing its wines beneath the very expansive Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León that covers a territory bigger than all of neighbouring Portugal.
In speaking with Abadía Retuerta’s CEO Enrique Valero, he informed Decanter, ‘Whereas we began the method of registering the Vino de Pago eight years in the past, it really began 25 years earlier in how we’ve aligned our philosophy to work the land with a purpose to recuperate what had been right here 9 centuries in the past.’
Their distinctive web site was initially the Monastery of Santa María de Retuerta which was established in 1146. As was the case with Christian monastic orders within the Iberian Peninsula, there was winemaking by the monks and since taking on the positioning in 1988, the trendy homeowners have labored to rebuild primarily based upon the previous with the monastery now being a vacation spot resort accompanied by a number of eating places.
The historical past was a eager half to establishing distinctive singularity for the PDO. The opposite half was the geography with the area sitting between two increased, 850m plains in addition to previous forests that regulate the humidity. Combining these parts, Abadía Retuerta has its personal, cooler local weather as in comparison with bordering municipalities. This is the reason, regardless of 75% of their vines being the Ribera del Duero stalwart of Tempranillo, in addition they have in depth plantings of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Moreover, the PDO paperwork have been set as much as permit for 16 totally different varieties in whole as Valero explains that, ‘We’re experimenting with varieties to account for the way forward for local weather change.’
As to why they labored to certify their property in a fashion that solely 21 others in all of Spain have completed, Valero mentioned, ‘I’ll be trustworthy in that we’ve actually difficult our lives right here by doing this however you should have your personal mannequin on this business. Finally, I need us to be outlined by web site of Abadía Retuerta which is why we sought out and have now achieved the Vino de Pago qualification.’
