Abadia Retuerta, Selección Especial, Sardon de Duero, Spain, 2016

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Overview of the Wine
The Abadía Retuerta Estate occupies over 700 hectares of terrain, and its name comes from the combination of two words that define and describe the territory: Rívula (river bank) and Torta (twisting, winding). Over 204 hectares of vineyards are spread out on hillsides ranging in altitude from a maximum 850 metres down to the southern bank of the Duero River. Most of the world's best varieties of soil are represented.

Designed by famous French enologist, Pascal Delbeck, in 1996, Abadía Retuerta winery is a surprising combination of tradition and modernity, recognized as one of the most advanced wineries in Europe. Currently, Angel Anocíbar Beloqui (PhD in Enology and Ampelography from the University of Bordeaux and International Wine Challenge 2005 Winemaker of the Year) coordinates the entire process, from the vine to the bottle.

Abadía Retuerta estate wines offer some very unique characteristics. They are full-colored wines, intense and aromatically clean, clearly structured, smooth to the palate and delicate in the development of their strength.

Grape / Blend
Blend: 75% Tempranillo, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot

Origin
Rioja, Spain

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Dark red colour with a clean, complex and fresh nose. On the palate, it has an intense fruity touch, mainly of red fruits. Aged in French and American oak barrels, the wood infuses notes of cedar, pastry and dark roasting.

96 Points - James Suckling
This is a stunning Ribera that shows a plethora of finely judged mulberries, blackberries, oyster shell, rust, iron, citrus, vanilla, undergrowth and licorice. Full-bodied and powerful with muscular tannins, but a wealth of dark fruit. Long and chewy on the finish. Drink in 2025.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Selección Especial is Abadía Retuerta's reliable red blend produced in enough quantities to have good availability and with an approachable and easy-to-understand profile that reached great quality with the 2016 Selección Especial, from one of the best vintages in recent times in the region. It's 75% Tempranillo, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, a blend that can change with the conditions of the year, as it's decided by tasting the wines. If in the past this wine was quite oaky, this 2016 feels quite integrated and balanced, ripe and medium-bodied, with a soft and tender palate, round tannins and moderate influence from the élevage of 13 months in French and American oak barrels. This comes from a cuvée of 1,675 barrels that produced wine to fill 453,000 bottles, 22,500 magnums and 1,100 double magnums. The quality is awesome for the volume produced. It was bottled between mid-May and early July 2018.

Product size: 750ml