Meaning 20 villages or locations, this exciting new organic red from the Familia Fernandez Rivera stable has a fleshier character from the sandier soils on which it grows, compared to the firmer, limestone-based Pesquera wines. With more liquorice and blackberry on the palate, the tannin structure is softer and there’s a more pronounced vanillary note on the finish. Excellent balance, a very appealing wine for early drinking.
£17.90
per bottle
This Wine Is An Oddment - Please Allow Up To 2 Working Days Extra For Delivery
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Alejandro Fernández
Pesquera wines are very much the fruit of one man – Alejandro Fernandez. Brought up and working in wine all his life, he struck out on his own in 1972, selecting the best grapes from his connections in Ribera del Duero and using his in-depth knowledge of the region. Ribera del Duero had ticked along, a wide plateau of free-draining soils where over centuries Tempranillo had ‘morphed’ into Tinto Fino – basically the same variety but with smaller, darker grapes on the bunch.
The wines were rustic in the most, but Alejandro, with an eye of the success of Vega Sicilia just down the road, had the courage to invest in raising the quality: he got in at the beginning. Within ten years his wines had caught the eye of American critic Robert Parker Jnr, who cemented their reputation by proclaiming Pesquera, “the Petrus of Spain!”
He bought the first part of the Pesquera vineyard in 1989 which has since grown into a 200 hectare estate that faces south on slopes above the river Duero. The sand and gravel soils are poor and well-drained over a limestone and clay subsoil, and the vines trained low on espalier trellises to maximise the heat from the ground. The wines have class and breeding; there is power coupled with elegance, and that all important ability to age that Parker spotted years ago. Alejandro and his family have expanded, re-invigorating another Ribera del Duero bodega, Condado de Haza, to make a chunkier, complimentary style as well as investing in other regions in Spain. The Tinto Pesquera bodega along with Condado de Haza, El Vinculo and Dehesa La Granja, together form the Familia Fernandez Rivera.
A wet first half of the 2020 vintage meant a lot of work in the vineyard was needed but a better more consistent second half resulted in some juicy young wines with those ageing in barrel looking very promising. A very good year, 2019 had warm dry conditions but yields were limited by a tricky flowering period. A cooler and wetter year than other recent vintages has endowed the wines of 2018 with greater freshness and lower alcohols. Across the country the wines are showing good aromatics, plenty of weight, and a juicy fresh character. Growers had a complex year in 2017 having to contend with frost, hail and drought. Yields are down as a result, but the picture overall is of good quality particularly in Galicia and the South, Penedès also performed well. The 2016 vintage was pretty good on the whole with Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Rueda having excellent results. 2015 was heralded as the best vintage across Spain in recent years, and particularly so in the north. 2014 saw some good wines made with a little rain in the second half of harvest and low yields. This came after the potentially great 2013 vintage which has given fresh, vibrant, robust wines. The 2012 harvest was also very good, a dry year but yields were low. The run of good to excellent quality goes right back to 2002, with 2011 being an early harvest in good conditions. 2010 was a cooler year, which has delivered a more elegant style of wine – top Riojas are outstanding. 2009 was a warm year with a big harvest of excellent grapes.
Usually delivered the next working day (on orders placed before 1pm on a working day).
Please note, whilst the majority of parcels sent on this service are received next day, this is not guaranteed.
£14.50 Per Delivery Address
£5 On Orders Over £120
We always do our very best to achieve our stated delivery times but please note we can not be responsible for circumstances beyond Tanners control including, but not limited to, adverse weather conditions and supplier and carrier difficulties.
Delivery to other areas - additional charges
For deliveries to the Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the main Scottish Islands deliveries are charged at a fixed price of £15 for the first case (up to 12 x 75cl) and £10 for each subsequent case. Rates are calculated automatically at the checkout.
You should allow up to an additional 5 working days over standard delivery for delivery to these areas.
You will appreciate that stock positions are subject to continual change in a multi-channel business. Very occasionally, an item may be out of stock that the website has allowed you to order. We will attempt to contact you to discuss an alternative. In the event that we cannot reach you, to ensure a timely delivery, we will substitute with a similar item of equal or higher value (at no additional cost), unless requested not to do so in your order's delivery instructions.
Returns
If you don't like any wine that you buy from us, for whatever reason, return it within a month of purchase and we shall refund your money without question or delay. Please telephone on 01743 234455 or contact us
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