Bodegas los Astrales, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2005 ($66, Grapes of Spain / Aurelio Cabestrero)

Jan 15, 2025

By Andrew Holod
Wine label

At the start of this review, I feel I must disclose that I worked for the US Importer of this wine, when this wine was imported. Note too, that I spent my own money to buy this bottle. At the time this wine was made by Eduardo Garcia, son of Mariano Garcia of Vega Sicilia and Bodegas Mauro winemaking fame. The winery has a large holding of very old vines around the village of Anguix, which boast a combination of high elevation and an unusually high proportion of clay in the soils, offering particularly silky tannins in the finished wines. Eduardo prepared for his role at this winery after studying winemaking at the University of Bordeaux and working harvests at Château Cos d’Estournel, Domaine Hubert Lignier, and Ridge Cellars, here in the US. Kept in my cellar since soon after release, I was pleased to reflect on a good purchase upon pulling the cork. The wine shows an amazingly youthful color with very little visible development, a dark purple that is nearly opaque with virtually no browning at the rim. Aromatically the wine has developed with some baking spice and leather sneaking in behind the luscious baked plum fruit note, and yet it seems very youthful. Upon tasting the wine, I get the impression that this wine has years or even decades of capacity to age further. While not overly firm or drying, the tannins are still lively, buoyed by juicy acidity. I paired this with Goat Biryani and Saag Aloo, from a local Pakistani take-out restaurant, thinking the richness of this wine would match well with the gamey character of the goat. It was a delicious pairing and an auspicious moment to enjoy the bottle. Sharing the remainder of the bottle with neighbors the next day, they commented on the quality of the wine, impressive at 19 years of age.
93 Andrew Holod

Country / Region

Castilla y León, Spain

Appellation

Ribera del Duero

Grape Variety

Color

Red

Vintage

2005

Score

93

Price

US $ 66

Producer

Bodegas los Astrales