This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
As you know, at Bodegas Arzuaga we’re bringing all our wines to you through a series of video tastings you can follow to learn more about our wines. So, today on our blog, we’d like to tell you about a red wine that’s at the forefront in Ribera del Duero: our Arzuaga Reserva Especial.
Arzuaga Reserva Especial 2015 is a different and exclusive wine since it’s only made in the best vintages. We started making this wine in 1996 with the aim of bringing together two elements that can be difficult to harmonise: strength and elegance. Ignacio Arzuaga, the managing director of Bodegas Arzuaga, defines it as ‘very powerful and, at the same time, very smooth’.
The grapes we use to make this wine come from select vineyards whose average age is 80 years old. Another very important characteristic of this wine is that it’s made in a very traditional way. Accordingly, the grapes are not destemmed; instead, we vat the full bunches in homage to the way wine has always been made in Castile, not just in Ribera del Duero.
Besides the red variety Tempranillo, our Reserva Especial has a small percentage of the white variety Albillo, giving it a wonderful point of acidity. Ignacio Arzuaga also highlights that this variety ‘is going to give us a balance to the wine, a fineness and, although it might seem hard to believe, it’s going to help us to keep the colour better’. These characteristics ‘come from that selection of old vineyards, of bunches vatted in small tanks and then moved to new French oak barrels where we age it for around 22 months thanks to malolactic fermentation,’ he explains.
Arzuaga Reserva Especial 2015 is a wine with a very strong aromatic intensity. It’s complex, and in tasting it, you’ll find very diverse notes: fresh red fruits, ripe black fruits, redcurrants, Picota cherries… Even flowers with a yellow tone, something ‘difficult’ in a red wine.
In terms of pairing, Ignacio Arzuaga recommends accompanying this wine with substantial meats such as wild boar or venison, Bresse pigeon or stronger flavours such as porcini mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms or fatty meats such as Kobe beef, traditional stews, pork cheeks in red wine…
In short, Reserva Especial 2015 is a very elegant wine that’s also readily available to enjoy with your nearest and dearest paired with the tastiest recipes.