Finca Torremilanos
Montecastrillo Tinto
Pablo Peñalba López acquired the Finca Torremilanos estate in 1975 with 60 hectares of vines (now grown to almost 200 hectares of vineyards)—seven years before Ribera del Duero was even recognized as an appellation. He immediately began producing estate-bottled wines of remarkable quality, moving away from the former practice of selling bulk grapes to the local co-op. Pablo continued to develop and showcase the potential of the land across a wide range of soils (sand, rounded river stones, clay, limestone) and exposures.
By the early 2000s, their eldest son, Ricardo, had stepped into his father’s role and began investigating organic and biodynamic farming methods, including returning to horse-plowing, hand picking, and native-yeast fermentation. In 2015 they became the first in the appellation to be Demeter certified. Since 1988 they have even produced their own barrels of French and American oak at their in-house cooperage.
Tasting Notes
Easy drinking, but true to varietal. Dark in color, light in tannins, and medium bodied.
Cultivation
Manual harvesting of estate owned vineyards.
Vinification
Fermentation in stainless steel tanks and maceration for 8 days. After this time, aged in 225 liters oak barrels.
Aging
Aged 4 months on lees in French oak barrels.
Press
2019:
89 points - Robert Parker
APPELLATION
D.O. Ribera del Duero
VARIETAL
100% Tempranillo
ABV
13.5%
ALTITUDE
800-900 meters
SOIL
Alluvium
PHILOSOPHY
Biodynamic, organic
AVERAGE AGE
15-25 years