Spain

Dominio de Atauta "Llanos del Almendro", 97p/Peñin 2009

/ #1434884
Size: 750 ml (Standard)

97p / Peñin (as Pingus). Dominio de Atauta's absolute top wine, which is almost impossible to find in most of the world! The house's female winemaker considers "Llanos del Almendro" to be the best plot in Duero. It unites the depth and opulence of the other two top wines, La Mala and Valdegatiles. A monument of a wine with very great development potential. If you let it go when you are young, you need plenty of air!
The small field is on a north-facing slope at 965 m.s height, consisting of sand with pebbles that collect heat during the day, over limestone cliffs. These are ungrafted, pre-Phylloxera vines over 140 years old, with very little yield. The grapes ripen very slowly, so the growing season is extremely long. There will only be between approx. 600 - 1500 bottles out of a vintage! The must ferments in steel with natural yeast and stores for 18 months in 2nd year barriques, where the malolactic fermentation also takes place. A beautiful combination of very high fruit intensity and juicy, acid-playing elegance. Impressions of plum, dark berries, graphite, licorice, tar, smoke and nice minerality are gradually evolving, probably up to twenty years ...
The town of Atauta is located in the Soria region in the eastern part of Ribera del Duero and has only approx. 1000 inhabitants but a long wine history. 600 years ago, the vineyards were built here directly in the limestone cliffs. In 1999, Dominio de Atauta continued the tradition with a modern wine house carved into the cliff side. From the outside it looks like a modest farmhouse, but the house has 3rd floors below it. On each floor, a step in the vinification takes place. Gravity thus replaces pumps and transports the wine to the next link in the vinification one floor down.
In the wine context, the Atauta valley is unique in that it avoided the phylloxera wine lice, which ravaged Europe from the 1860s into the 20th century. Therefore, vines older than 150 years are found here. The isolated location and a layer of sand at the top of the soil are probably the main reasons. Atautadalen is only 1x4 km., Where the vineyard has 15 ha. as well as controls the cultivation and gets grapes from 30 ha. more. The earth is divided into approx. 500 small plots of land between 980 and 1050 m. Above sea level, with many variations in soil and sun exposure, which provides an exciting but complicated puzzle when composing the wines. Hot days and cold nights, the grapes ripen slowly, ensuring the combination of fruit depth and juiciness that complement each other so well in the wines. The cultivation methods are biodynamic and organic but not certified.
Dominio de Atauta was chosen by Thomas Rydberg as one of the finest wineries in the Ribera del Duero and was the test winner in the 2015 tasting (with Almendro '11). In October '14, Wine Spectator proclaimed Dominio Atauta to be among the elite of wineries in Spain. Three of Atauta's wines were in the Top 5 of the magazine's highest recommended wines from Spain. In addition, the best wines from Atauta score as high points as Pingus and Vega Sicilia in Spain's leading guide Guía Peñin in both the 2013 and 2014 editions.

Current Price
975 DKK ( 130 EUR i )
Ended
End Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020 11:59 PM
  • Sold Winning Bid: 975 DKK
  • 1 Bid(s)

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