Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero sits on Spain's high central meseta along the Duero River, at 700-900 meters elevation. Cold nights and hot days produce dense, dark Tempranillo (locally called Tinto Fino or Tinta del País) with more concentration and higher tannin than its Rioja cousin. The DO is younger than Rioja but quickly built a reputation through Vega Sicilia and a generation of ambitious modern estates.
Signature grapes
Defining styles
Famous appellations
- Ribera del Duero DO
History
Vega Sicilia was founded in 1864 with Bordeaux varieties brought north by the Lecanda family, and remained the region's lone prestige outlier for a century. The DO was created in 1982. The 1990s and 2000s brought a wave of new high-end producers (Pingus, Aalto, Pesquera) that put Ribera firmly on collectors' radar.