In the heart of the appellation D.O. Ribera del Duero is located Bodegas Maeste, a winemaking project steeped in honesty, where the weight of their own family history and the commitment and respect for the environment encourages them to make authentic and personal wines, able to communicate the love for this land and to be part of their own personal story. The very basis of the project and the philosophy of their wines “Alma del Vivar” and “Alma del Moral” is to sustainably work in accordance with the terroir and the traditional history of Ribera del Duero, with the aim of making all wine and food lovers enjoy. The “Alma” of these wines are the different memories woven together of many lived experiences, which together with the Ribera del Duero wine culture and a selected raw material result in unique wines. Wines with “Alma”.

Viticulture

lma del Moral has been made with different micro-plots of vineyards, highlighting a small old vineyard of about 60 years in Pedrosa de Duero, and the rest of about 30 years in the heart of the Ribera, mainly in the Rodero and Valdepila areas between the terms of San Martín de Rubiales and Peñafiel on the banks of the Duero river; and with small percentages of grapes from the Camino de las Colmenas area in Baños de Valdearados and the Las Braguillas area in Honrubia de la Cuesta.

Mostly influenced by the floods of the Duero River, the soils form a mixture of limestone, clay, sand, calcareous stones and minerals that also contribute to the sedimentation of the mountain as quartzite. Average attitude of 900 m, better ventilation and a vegetative advance due to its strong sunlight and less natural vegetation that will allow us to obtain an optimal grape regardless of the year. In the main vineyard average slope of 30%, which facilitates the runoff of the rains, avoiding waterlogging and humidity in the vineyards. On most microplots, the orientation is South with alignment of vineyards North – South, which allows to balance the strong insolation of the summer days and at the same time receive abundant light during most of the day throughout the year.

Winemaking

Manual harvest in small boxes of 12 kg, late September – early October. Selection in the vineyard and in the winery with a selection table with 8 hands. Autochthonous yeast and spontaneous fermentation. Weekly pumping and rackings keeping the thin lees. Ageing for 14 months in 225 L Bordeaux barrels of French (75%) and American (25%) toasted and fine grain oak, maintaining a balance between new (25%) and used first year (75%).

Tasting notes

At sight it is a wine with a deep upper layer, with an intense cherry red color and bluish-purple reflections. On the nose, aromas of black and red fruits stand out, such as mulberries, blackberries and cherries, giving way to very elegant and balanced subtle toasted notes, along with touches of cedar and spices such as cloves and pepper. On the palate it is fresh, long-lasting, with an elegant complexity of good acidity and tannins, with an aftertaste of fruit and hints of French and American oak.

Food pairing

A wine to enjoy without complexes and harmonize it with any quality gastronomic dish.