2020 Pago de Carraovejas

The Pago de Carraovejas is an almost Bordeaux-like wine and is incomparable with other Ribera del Dueros. The 2020 vintage is a blend of mainly Tempranillo with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (92% Tinto Fino, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot). The wine is very complex and beautifully proportioned. Nothing dominates and various layers are released over time when smelling and tasting. Cedar, Asian herbs, violets, tapenade, and blackberry aromas in the nose. Fruit on the palate with soft wood tannins with a small vanilla note from growing up in American oak. The taste is medium to full-bodied and very balanced with fine, tight tannins and a silky texture. In terms of style, this wine can be compared to an Aalto from its good years and that is not surprising since the former winemaker and director Javier Zaccagnini of Aalto has worked closely with Pago de Carraovejas and Javier Zaccagnini is also the owner of Ossian which is currently now also falls under Pago de Carraovejas group.

Pago de Carraovejas is the truest reflection of the valley from which it takes its name. The Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines are spread over several slopes of the Carraovejas Valley located in a wilderness at an altitude of over 900 meters. The vineyards are planted on tertiary soil. On the surface, loamy limestones emerge, with the presence of clay, sandstone and gypsum with the characteristic white hue. It is an austere soil that subjects the vines to an attempt to control the yield and give the best of themselves. These are soils that force the vines to regulate themselves and do their best. The vineyards are distributed from the middle zones up to more than 900 meters; from the gentle undulation that descends to the stream, to plots with a gradient of more than 30%. South and north facing slopes, each with their own personality, outline the profile of the Carraovejas Valley.

FACT : In the Tab: Appendix you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will send it to you automatically when you order this wine. The wine is stored in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you pick up the wine you will often receive a nice discount. You will immediately see the possible discount if you choose Pickup in the Checkout page. We are almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for address.

The grapes for the Pago de Carraovejas were harvested by hand after thorough monitoring during the ripening period and after an initial selection in the vineyard. A double selection then takes place in the winery: bunches and berries. After picking it remains in a temperature-controlled cooling room and from there after the selection tables for the 2nd selection. The grapes are only crushed (gravity) and the free flow juice is therefore used to retain its purest and freshest aromas. The wine is fermented with its own yeast under meticulous control and then undergoes a malolactic fermentation with indigenous microbiota from the estate. In December the wine was moved to French and American oak barrels, where it remained for approximately 12 months. The entire process was determined by calm, meticulousness and gravity and this makes the wine unique in its kind and produces a wine of excellent quality.

ABOUT VINTAGE 2022
After very little rain in 2019, the 2020 harvest was marked by a winter of abundant rainfall. The vineyard managed to preserve its water reserve, allowing the vegetative cycle of the vineyard to develop with excellent balance and homogeneity. Spontaneous and sown vegetative ground covers were used to control vigor. By the end of April there was widespread bud break and no weather or health incidents were recorded. Since there was no interference in the development and evolution of the buds, excellent yields were achieved in the vineyard, which were balanced thanks to the thinning technique. The harvest started on September 14 and ended on October 10. The grapes of Pago de Carraovejas 2020 were harvested early in the morning after an initial selection. A double selection was then made in the winery: bunches and berries and everything goes via gravity, so no use of pumps (Gravity-flow winemaking)

Fact: In addition to Ossian , the Pago Carraojevas group has also included the beautiful winery Viña Mein in Galicia. Great wines made with a sea injection. At the end of 2020 , Milsetentayseis La Peña (wines from very old Pre-Phylloxera vines) and the iconic wines (always between 95-100 parking points) from Emilio Rojo were added to the group (Alma Carraovejas). The latest acquisition will be in mid-2021, which now belongs to the Bodega Marañones group from the Sierra de Gredos.