Telmo RodriguezMatallana OWC6 2022

A little reserved at this early stage, you can feel the hew and heft of the tannins keeping everything in check. There is a sense of precision and crafted architecture, concentrated but with the lightest of touches. Energy and power, dark black fruits, exceptional quality. 21.5ha across eleven vineyards, winemakers Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza. Harvest September 22 to October 6 after an exceptionally dry season, native yeast fermentation in oak vats and stainless steel tanks.

The current release from Ribera del Duero is the 2022 Matallana, the only wine they produce in the appellation, mixing origins and soils from five different villages—Sotillo de la Ribera, Roa, Fuentecén, Fuentemolinos and Pardilla. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats and matured in French oak barrels of different ages for 14 months. It's a serious and traditional Ribera, with power, the concentration from the year and the elegant rusticity from the zone. But it doesn't feel like a wine from a warm vintage, and IT WAS warm, extremely warm. The harvest started eight days earlier than in 2021, denoting a warmer year. The grapes—a Tempranillo-based field blend that also contains some Garnacha, Bobal and Albillo—delivered a wine with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.72 and 4.34 grams of acidity. It's serious, harmonious and very balanced, with fine-grained tannins. It's a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year. 23,883 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024.

Dark-fruited with subtle chocolate, this Ribera del Duero opens with layers of blackberries, pepper and graphite. The palate is full-bodied and composed, with finely etched, dusty yet refined tannins that frame the velvety fruit without overpowering it. It is broad but with precision and tension. A great effort in one of the warmest and driest vintages in recent history. It can be drunk now, but best from 2027.
Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas
Senior Editor

Balsamic nose, rose petals, blackcurrants with Maraschino cherries. Tannic and grippy but not dry, this has flesh but turns more savoury than overtly fruity giving liquorice, vanilla cream, cola and tobacco touches. It’s quite a serious wine with less charm on offer right now but lots of energy and precision to make up for it. Needs a while for the wood to integrate and to shake some of the seriousness off but there's no faulting the precision to each and every element and the fruit is amazingly pure. Owner/winemaker pair Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza.