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Spain
Central to the Spanish winemaking philosophy is the belief that wine should be released only when it is ready to be consumed, and not a moment before. Spanish wine law focuses squarely on this issue: the terms Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva are highly regulated indicators of the amount of time a wine has aged prior to its release. In Rioja, Navarra, and the Ribera del Duero (which have the...
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Tempranillo
A.k.a. Cencibel. Just about synonymous with Spanish wine, the red Tempranillo grape has now fully won over the hearts and minds of critics and amateur oenophiles all over the world. The best bottles are powerful and ageworthy, and are beginning to fetch prices you'd never have expected from Spanish wines just a few years ago. Tempranillo is often used in blends with Bordeaux grapes such as...
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Ribera del Duero
This region is home to perhaps the most famed and acclaimed Spanish wine in history, the incomparable Vega Sicilia. Indeed for the better part of the twentieth century, Vega Sicilia was the single most expensive wine in Spain and, largely, the country’s major claim to fame on the international market. It wasn’t until 1972 that other winemakers began to creep into the region, but now the Ribera...
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