Wine Review: Tinto Pesquera Reserva Especial, Ribera del Duero 1994

A special tribute to the late, visionary Alejandro Fernández, one of the pioneers of Spanish wine-making in the last 50 years who started the Pesquera winery in Ribera del Duero. This mature Reserva Especial seemed a fitting wine to commemorate him with.

The estate was founded in 1972 before Ribera del Duero had come to prominence. The purchase was financed by money Fernández had made from selling a patent. Pesquera de Duero was Alejandro's home town; the estate lies on its outskirts. The first harvest was the 1975. The wine found immediate success, following in the footsteps of its neighbor Vega Sicilia, and forced the recognition of DO status for Ribera del Duero in 1982. It is now one of the foremost wineries in the country.

The 200 hectares (500 acres) of mature vineyards are spread out along south-facing banks of the Duero river on a variety of soils, although these are mainly based on sandy, gravelly soil over limestone and clay. These vineyards are around 2000-2500ft (600-700m) above sea level, and have a continental climate with hot days and cool nights. Rather than cultivating bush vines, the plants are trained on low espalier trellises, to better capture ground heat. Pesquera was one of the first producers in the region to use wire training.

Tinto Pesquera's wines are made in a converted 16th-Century stone building. A carefully considered mix of French and American barriques is used to age the wines – the Crianza for a minimum of 18 months, and the Reserva for up to three years. The Gran Reserva and Janus Gran Reserva are aged for 36-48 months before release. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Discover more about this wine, its pricing and where to buy it by following this link to the Wine-Searcher website:https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ti...

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01:00 A tribute to Alejandro Fernández
02:35 Characteristics and flavor profile
03:32 Tasting notes