2016 Bela Ribera del Duero Roble Spain 750 ml

Value-Priced, 93-point Tempranillo at 2,200 Feet

A new project from Cune, this single-vineyard Ribera del Duero release delivers mineral sophistication and dark polish at an unheard-of price point—just $20.00! James Suckling praised it with 93 points, finding in the bottle “medium to full body, firm and silky tannins with a beautiful tannin and fruit combination that leaves delicious, fresh fruit and nuttiness on the aftertaste. Why wait?” Offering high-elevation complexity and freshness, this exciting new cuvée may take the cake for Rioja value of the year. A clear case-buy for any Spanish red enthusiast.

Ribera del Duero is home to the highest red wine vineyards in all of Europe. When Cune—the 138-year-old Spanish producer which minted the country’s first-ever #1 wine in Wine Spectator—decided to make a single-vineyard, high-altitude Tempranillo, they came here.

Joining forces with the Bela winery, founded in 1999 in Villalba de Duero, Burgos, the goal was to blend the pedigree and sophistication of Cune with the intense power of the Ribera del Duero terroir. Since 2002, Bela’s vines have been spidering deep into the clay soils, allowing these magnificent plants to shrug off the hydric stress in the recent hot summers and flourish like never before. The vineyard sits at over 2,200 feet, accounting for the freshness and classic Tempranillo grace in this wine.

Ever since the explosive success of Spain’s First Growth, Vega Sicilia, Ribera del Duero has been ground zero for some of the country’s biggest and richest wines. The exposure and coolness of the raised plateaus complement the region’s extreme continental climate, sweltering by day and chilly by night. Here, rainfall is limited, but the limestone-clay soil is adept at absorbing and retaining it. These conditions make for a lengthy growing season that allows grapes to reach perfect phenolic maturity and ripeness, distilled in a knock-your-socks-off aromatic bouquet, as complex as it is heady.

2016 has already begun to draw comparisons to some of the great vintages of the late 1980s and 90s. Dramatic diurnal variation, replenished water tables, and perfectly timed September showers after a dry, hot summer created conditions for a Rioja of rich fruit, exceptional balance, and gorgeous mineral aromatics.