Critic ratings
robert_parker
2016
Rating:
97
–97
The white from Dominio del Águila is one of the first whites from the Ribera del Duero appellation, which just approved the category in September 2019. It's also one of the finest whites from the region (and from Spain), used by the appellation to present the new category of wines as an example of the aging potential of the style, which at this address was produced in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and until now sold as generic Vino de España. The fourth vintage bottled is this 2016 Blanco, which is insultingly young and backward, with incredible tension, 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.08, which is only achieved in cool vintages, and crafted as the best white Burgundies, as it's produced with the idea of a true vin de garde. This 2016 took almost two years to complete fermentation, because it ferments in oak barrels in a very cold cellar. This is the finest vintage, with citrus notes, hints of smoke and incredible tension and freshness in the palate. This has the tenderness of a baby and should have a slower development than any of the previous vintages. It was hand bottled—unfined and unfiltered after 32 months in barrel—into 4,855 bottles and 80 magnums in June 2019. These are wines that deserve being revisited a few years after their bottling...
robert_parker
2015
Rating:
96
–96
They also produced their white in 2015 but were waiting because the wine is too young and they don't know if the wines from 2015 like this 2015 Blanco will be allowed to carry the Ribera del Duero appellation. To me, it's a no-brainer, because the wine is extraordinary and can be one of the ones to carry the white Ribera del Duero flag. But anyway, even in a warmer and riper year, the wine has a moderate 13% alcohol and a very low pH and took over one year to complete its fermentation. It matured in French oak barrels for 35 months. Tasted next to the 2016 white, it shows the differences in ripeness and also the way the wine wears the oak in a different way. The grapes were picked very early and yields were low and maintained parameters similar to 2016. The palate is salty and bright, with flavors and more elegance than the previous years, with a terrific finish. Seeing how good the 2012 is today (I clearly underestimated it when I first tasted it), this should develop beautifully in bottle. 2,358 bottles and 48 magnums were filled in August 2018 after a slightly longer élevage.
robert_parker
2014
Rating:
96
–96
The second vintage produced, the 2014 Blanco unfortunately is still not allowed to carry the Ribera del Duero appellation even though it's produced with the traditional white Albillo grape grown in old vineyards in the zone. The 2014 Blanco is nothing short of spectacular. It's produced with the grapes from individual ancient vines planted in old, organically farmed vineyards on clay and limestone soils at some 800 meters in altitude. It has moderate alcohol (13%) and a very low pH (3.08), which translates into great freshness and a sharp and serious palate obtained by fermenting the juice from foot-trodden full clusters with indigenous yeasts in concrete and oak vats for about one year, during which time the wine was kept with the lees that were not stirred or racked. It was hand bottled without fining or filtering in March 2017. It has the flinty, sesame seed-like reduction I find in some fine white Burgundies. It has a fresh and balanced palate and is terribly mineral. It's even better than the initial 2012, and especially the oak feels better integrated. My guess is this white is going to age nicely and for a long time in bottle. This has to be among the finest unfortified whites from Spain. Bravo! 1,380 bottles and 41 magnums produced.
robert_parker
2012
Rating:
94
–94
White wines are not yet allowed in the Ribera del Duero appellation, but might soon be. The 2012 Blanco from Dominio del Águila is a rara avis (pun intended!), a wine produced with the rare Albillo grape from Ribera del Duero, but as I explained does not bear the Ribera label. They have two small blocks of white grapes plus some isolated old vines interplanted in the rest of their vineyards, where the tradition was to plant a field blend of different varieties, red and white together, often to produce the old traditional 'clarete.' To produce this Blanco, full clusters were foot trodden, then partially pressed and the juice put to ferment in French oak barrels at very low temperatures in their deep caves, a fermentation that took some 10 moths to complete with the full lees but without any bâttonage or racking. The nose is very Burgundian with a Castilian accent, with leesy aromas, earthy and mineral, while the flowers and yellow fruit are in the background. Albillo does produce powerful whites that can, at the same time, be very mineral, with tension, and this one is simply outstanding, very long and fresh, incredibly mineral and, almost salty. This has to be among the best white wines from Spain. The price has not yet been set for this great white. It should age for a very long time in bottle. Unfortunately only some 800 bottles were filled in their initial 2012 vintage.
robert_parker
2018
Rating:
96
–96
The one white (there will be a special cuvée sold exclusively in Spain, first produced in 2019, a white put through malolactic), the 2018 Albillo Viñas Viejas is a superb and elegant varietal Albillo Mayor produced in a very Burgundian way (but without malolactic). It has 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.04 and is medium-bodied with moderate ripeness; it's very spicy and has notes of toasted sesame seeds, hints of white flowers and fruit and a citrus twist. It fermented and matured in French oak barrels for 25 months. This is by far the best white from the region and one of the finest table whites from Spain. 5,455 bottles and 98 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2021.
robert_parker
2017
Rating:
96
–96
The white 2017 Albillo Viñas Viejas comes from the toughest harvest in recent years, a growing season marked by severe frosts followed by a warm summer and an early harvest. Despite everything, the wine is only 13% alcohol and has a pH of 3.14, meaning there's a lot of freshness here despite being harvested after some of the earlier reds. The grapes come from organically farmed vines at an average of 880 meters in altitude in the village of La Aguilera, where the soils are rich in red clay, limestone and sand. This is the Albillo Mayor from Ribera del Duero, unrelated to the other Albillo (Real, Criollo...) from vines that are over 100 years old, some ungrafted. The clusters were foot trodden, and the juice put in oak casks to ferment slowly with indigenous yeasts and without stirring the lees or anything, using minimum doses of sulfur. The wine matured in oak barrels for 35 months before it was hand bottled without being filtered or fined. This has a very Burgundian profile—it's aromatic, expressive, open, smoky, spicy and flinty. But this overdelivers for the adverse conditions of the harvest; it has very good balance and is tasty, intense and chalky, not quite reaching the electricity of the 2016, but it has its character. This is approachable now, perhaps not as long lived as the 2016 but perhaps easier to understand by a wider audience. A real triumph for the vintage. Bravo! 3,847 bottles and 10 magnums were filled in September 2020.
robert_parker
2020
Rating:
96
–96
The white 2020 Albillo Viñas Viejas also had a very slow fermentation because it's quite rich, and it feels more generous and rounder than the 2019 I tasted next to it. It has a more approachable nose that is less reductive and flinty, more civilized. It was a cool year, and the wine has amazing parameters—13% alcohol and a pH of 3.02 and no sugar—coming though as bone dry and chalky. It matured in French oak barrels for 35 months. 3,926 bottles and 67 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2023.
robert_parker
2019
Rating:
97
–97
I first tasted the 2019 Albillo Viñas Viejas double blind with my tasting group, and I was blown away (and the rest of the group too!) by its sheer elegance and freshness. It has a fine reduction, hints of toasted sesame seeds, very clean fruit and flowers. It feels like a Burgundy but lighter and fresher, with more elegance and a flinty and stony sensation on the palate. It has 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.05; it took a long time to ferment (13 months!) and then matured in barrel to complete 35 months of élevage. 5,932 bottles and 225 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2022.