Picaro del Aguila Ribera del Duero Clarete 2023

Region: Ribera del Duero, Spain

Grape Varieties: Tempranillo, Albillo, Tempranillo Gris, Cariñena, Garnacha, Bobal, Bruñal, etc.

Those familiar with the wines of the Ribera del Duero of Spain may be surprised to see a Rosé version. In a quirk of the rules regulating the production of Ribera del Duero the wine must be made with 75% Tempranillo, but they never specifically define the final product as a red wine. White wine is prohibited under the Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) rules but Clarete, or Rosé, has a long history in the region. In all of my tastings and two visits to the region I have only ever encountered a couple of examples. For several years I have tasted the new release of this wine and found it compelling, but how does one sell a $69 bottle of Ribera del Duero Rosé? Start a club and make it a selection!

The Dominio del Águila winery is the blood and sweat of Jorge Monzón Pascual & his wife Isabel Rodero. Together they craft their wines in almost open defiance to the conventional styles of the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. Where so many estates in this region produce high alcohol, over extracted and oaky examples, Jorge and Isabel make wines that are fresh and lively, with impressive intensity. This is no surprise when you consider that Jorge began his winemaking career at the famed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in the Burgundy region of France. In fact, he showed up at their door with no experience or recommendations and did not even speak the language. Somehow he convinced them to bring him on as an intern, learning under the legendary maître de chai, Bernard Noblet. Returning to the Ribera del Duero he landed at none other than Vega Sicilia, the most important winery in the region, where he was tasked with creating a white wine.

During this time Jorge began purchasing old vineyards in danger of being replanted with newer, higher yielding clones of Tempranillo. Recognizing that these undesirable vineyards were ancient, unproductive massale selections of Tempranillo mixed with a diverse range of other varieties, including a high proportion of white grapes. These vineyards were primarily Tempranillo interplanted with Albillo, Tempranillo Gris, Cariñena, Garnacha, Bobal, Bruñal and others so obscure that they haven’t been identified yet. Ranging in age from 60-150+ years old, these old vines were a snapshot of how complexity and balance were achieved in the vineyards before modern winemaking. Today Jorge and Isabel produce a series of wines from these old vines including this classic Clarete.

Many years ago, Clarete was a common product of Ribera del Duero, not classically a rosé but certainly pink in color. Pícaro Clarete is made by foot treading a mix of whole cluster red and white grape bunches in tank, followed by a couple of days maceration before racking to large oak vats for fermentation with indigenous yeasts. After about 8-9 months in vat, the wine is transferred to neutral French and American oak barrels, where it ages for 16 months before bottling.

We recommend decanting this wine for a half hour before serving and shoot for cellar temperature, 55 degrees, not refrigerator temp. The result is a wine shows classic Rosé notes of dried strawberry, raspberry fruit leather, tobacco and white pepper. Where this wine stands out is on the palate, where it is very dry and savory, with good balance and a long, complex finish. There are few wines that go better with paella, but you can also serve with seared octopus, prawns with harissa and couscous or jamón wrapped pork tenderloin.