Viña Magna Seis Meses Ribera del Duero 2016

The sensuous, sophisticated, suave and downright delicious 2016 Viña Magna Seis Meses Ribera del Duero makes a strong case for Dominio Basconcillos as one of Ribera del Duero’s top ten producers. This organic offering, which earned 90 points from the Decanter World Wine Awards, emanates from selected lots of grapes grown on a mixture of gravel and clay soils, which provide superb drainage and impart complexity as well as a diversity of flavors to this exquisitely textured red wine. The 2016 Viña Magna Seis Meses sports Ribera del Duero’s traditional purple color, superb concentration, and plenty of polish to complement the wine’s mature ripe tannins. It also offers a beguiling aroma full of dark cherry, sassafras, sage and violet flowers, which harmoniously flows through to the mouth to delight the palate with a cornucopia of hedonistic floral, fruit, and spice tones infused with smooth tannins and a touch of vanilla to assure a long gratifying finish. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording the 2016 Viña Magna Seis Meses Ribera del Duero 10-15 minutes of aeration prior to serving at cool room temperature (58°-62° F). Enjoy!

The sensuous 2016 Viña Magna Seis Meses Ribera del Duero needs only a clean glass to shine, but it also deserves a place of honor at table in the company of the finest fare. Some of our favorite accompaniments to Viña Magna’s award winning Seis Meses Ribera del Duero include a spicy country cassoulet and traditional paella made with chicken and pork. Two other perennial favorites: duck confit and grilled quail, stuffed with wild rice and served with a spicy white bean dish prepared with fresh rosemary, also earn two thumbs up. Venison stew prepared with carrots and potatoes constitutes another winning partnership. Tomato based dishes with capers such as Chicken Cacciatore provide excellent companionship, too, as does a simple white bean and vegetable pasta dish with shaved Parmesan cheese. A bit of rare artisanal Farmhouse Cheshire or a slice of Spanish Mahón with some good crusty bread makes a fine, easy to prepare accompaniment as well. Buen Provecho!

Viña Magna is made by the certified organic Domino Basconcillos estate and is the bodega’s flagship label of organically produced Ribera del Duero. The folks at Domino Basconcillos are skilled artisans who practice the kind of traditional-style, high altitude, organic viticulture that prevailed before the advent of phylloxera and the devastating effects of civil war and economic malaise that prevailed throughout Spain during much of the 20th century. In the late 1990s, Burgos native José Maria Basconcillos went in search of virgin land in Ribera del Duero on which he sought to establish one of Ribera del Duero’s leading organic vineyards. He found precisely what he was looking for in a private hunting property of 125 contiguous acres near Gumiel de Izán where he established Dominio Basconcillos. The property lies at the northern most extreme of the Ribera del Duero appellation at 3,300 feet of elevation, which makes it one of the highest vineyards in the entire region and in a sector where the first monastic vineyards were planted centuries ago.

Today, Dominio Basconcillos is comprised of a modern state of the art bodega and chateau situated among the estate’s organically cultivated vines. All Dominio Basconcillos’ wines are certified organic (Vino Ecológico, Agricultura Ecológica). In addition to the estate’s strict organic practices, all grapes are harvested by hand, de-stemmed, and sorted three times before entering the gravity flow process as whole berries. Bordeaux-trained enologist Francisco Barona takes full advantage of the estate’s high altitude vineyard and pure fresh fruit to practice natural winemaking and fashion wines with exceptional concentration, freshness and balance.

Located in the heart of Spain in the ancient realm of Castile and León, Ribera del Duero has been a center of wine production for thousands of years. Today, Ribera del Duero remains one of the most important wine regions in Spain, as it is the spiritual home of Tempranillo, Spain’s most venerable red grape variety, and the source of many of Spain’s greatest wines. Here the iconic Tempranillo, also known locally as Tinto Fino and Tinta del País, reaches its pinnacle and demonstrates to the world its inherent virtue. The finest Ribera del Duero also contain small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape that has long been cultivated in Ribera del Duero.