Dominio del Águila

Founded in 2010, the history of Dominio de Águila is still very young, but the winery can still be considered a bastion of tradition. Its foster father, Jorge Monzón, comes from the Ribera del Duero region and dared to do something in his youth. Without any in-depth knowledge of the language, he began an internship at the Burgundian legend Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and later also at the great icon Bodegas Vega Sicilia in his home region. The top wine estate Arzuaga is also in his biography. After that, the time was ripe for his own business. Above all, he acquired old fallow parcels of land with very old vines, which he saved from being replanted. Not only do these parcels have vines that range in age from 60 to an incredible 150 years, they were also planted a long time ago in a so-called mixed set, which means that different grape varieties are planted in one and the same plot. This means that different old Tempranillo clones, as well as Garnacha, Bobal and white Albillo, thrive together on the 60 hectares of vineyards. The advantage of these old vines is that they cope much better with the rough and harsh conditions of the region than new plantings. The grapes are harvested and processed together in the old-fashioned way, but only from those parcels whose yield meets Jorge Monzón's high standards. What fails the selection is sold. There are no presses in the cellars dating back to the 15th century, the grapes are crushed and crushed with feet as they were a long time ago, you will look in vain for a destemmer, fermentation takes place with natural yeasts with stems and stalks. And fermentation can take months in these deep, cool cellars. The wines of Dominio de Águila are so traditional that they are already modern again. They are inimitable, unique wines that are second to none. They have catapulted the domain to the top, and quite a few critics and enthusiasts are convinced that one day they will be as iconic as those of the iconic Vega Sicilia. But they are (still) available for measured money.