The Headlands of the Duero - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Wine of the Week

The Headlands of the Duero

by Joshua Greene • June 21, 2021

The barrio de las bodegas in Soria. Winemaker Jaime Suárez sources half of the grapes for his Atalayas de Golbán crianza from local growers. Photo by José Ignacio Berdon.

The team at Dominio de Atauta developed this project based at a separate facility in town, working with fruit from local growers in Soria. Half of their crianza comes from these high-elevation sites, planted in sandy soils at altitudes up to 3,200 feet where the vines are 70 to 80 years old. The other half is from vineyards in Burgos, mostly La Horra and Roa, where 30-year-old vines grow in clay. Winemaker Jaime Suárez says the only difference between this wine and La Celestina Crianza (also recommended in the June issue) is that the better grape selection goes to La Celestina. And yet, this wine blew me away. A week later, in the company of the top wines of our Ribera del Duero tastings, it was still holding its own—not complex, like what turned out to be several Vega-Sicilia wines, but fresh and delicious. I can’t say I wasn’t bemused (confused… embarrassed…) to find out this is a $19 wine. Its time in French oak barrels (20 percent new) points up the luxurious texture, a silken richness to frame the layers of red and black-skinned fruit—the acidity of fresh currants and the warm sunshine of blackberries. It’s a savory tempranillo, all of a piece, and that integration sustains it…if you don’t immediately finish the bottle with a dinner of roast lamb. Astonishing.

Aviva Vino, NY

94

Atalayas de Golbán 2017 Ribera del Duero Torre de Golbán Crianza Tempranillo (Best Buy)

$19

Where To Buy

Every week, our editors highlight a wine that intrigued them in our blind panel tastings, expanding on their tasting note in this space. These are entirely editorial choices; there are no paid placements. Subscribers can also access the original tasting note by searching h ere.

Joshua Greene

Joshua Greene is the editor and publisher of Wine & Spirits magazine.

This story appears in the print issue of June 2021.
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TAGS Ribera del Duero W&S June 2021

David Paradela
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After graduating with a degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Patricio Tapia attended Bordeaux University in France, where he studied for a diploma in wine tasting and winemaking. Since then, he has visited wine regions around the world and authored several books, including his annual Descorchados, a Chilean wine guide; The Wines of Colchagua Valley; TodoVino and Wines for Great Occasions. Tapia is also the South American correspondent for The Oxford Companion to Wine, The World Atlas of Wine and Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Book. For the past three years, he’s been a host on the El Gourmet channel in South America. At Wine & Spirits, Tapia is the critic for the wines of Argentina, Chile and Spain, and regularly contributes articles on these regions.