Aalto Ribera del Duero 2020
Aalto Ribera del Duero 2020
94 pts Wine Advocate
The nose of the red 2020 Aalto comes blasting with tons of toasted oak, spice, smoke and more toast, ripe berries and a luxurious creaminess like the finest modern wines from the turn of the century. This is predictable but exactly what their customers are looking for, with ripe berries, generous oak and a velvety palate with volume, soft tannins and mellow acidity. It matured in French and American oak barrels for 18 months. Some things never change. 330,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2022.
Vintage 2020
The farming year began with a very rainy autumn and mild temperatures. Winter started with fogs, a drastic decrease of temperatures, and ended up with little precipitation and moderate temperatures. Spring started with low temperatures due to a cold front that delayed the sprouting of the vines until late April. The rest of the season developed with unstable weather conditions and storms. High temperatures continued in July and the first fortnight of August, descending at the end of this month, and some storms occurred at that moment. September, as usual, kept soft temperatures during the day and low at night. The harvest started on September 14th.
100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) primarily from very old vines – 40 to 80 years old – from nine different villages in the province of Burgos and Valladolid. The harvest was done by hand, in small boxes of 15 kilos that are thoroughly inspected, bunch by bunch, on the selection table.
On the nose well ripened fruits, spices, great freshness, and minerals highlight the aromatic complexity of the 2020 vintage. On the palate, this wine has a good, broad, and an attractive structure with perfectly assembled silky tannins, a balanced acidity, and a long and fresh finish.
Oak ageing: 18 months in French and American oak barrels
ABV: 14.5% vol.