I had the pleasure of going to a wine industry event in South San Francisco at the San Franciso Wine School on a cool November 2024 day. I learned a lot about the largest region of Spain from a historical perspective, and mostly about the wines and wine culture of this large portion of north-central and north-western Spain. The anglified version Castilla y Leon, is Castile and Leon. There are many bordering lands (mostly mountain ranges) since Castilla y Leon is landlocked, but one prominent border is very northeastern Portugal, and the two countries share one major trans-national river, the Duoro (Duero in Spanish). So that should pique your interest as well. The Duoro is considered one of the oldest wine growing regions in the world, dating back to the 2nd century BC, but of course most modern wine growing started sometime in the middle ages with the monasteries. Of course, monks and nuns drank wine. Both Portugal and Spain boosted wine production in the middle ages.
There are 14 distinct DO (Designation of Origin) within Castilla y Leon which is not too surprising considering the long history and vastness of this region. There are over 80,000 hectares planted, the fourth most prodigious region in Spain, and something over 600 wineries producing in 2024. Spain is a top 5 global producer of wine in the world, and this region is a major factor. Spain produces more wine than the United States.
Here is a map of the region to give it more clarity.
The wines I drank on my tasting at this roadshow were mostly from DO Rueda, DO Ribera del Duero and one winery each from DO Tierra de Leon and DO Toro. I definitely did not get anywhere close to full exposure across this vast region of course. I also noticed that many of the wineries are family run businesses, and often quite large ones. Some wineries just produce maybe 10,000 to 20,000 cases which is not a lot for an export driven winery, and one producer Farina produces over 80,000 cases of wine, quite a lot, and this seemed to be the biggest winery at the event.
Much of the wine served was either Malvasia (for the dominant white varietal shown across the room), and in the reds, it was very much a show of beautifully complex Tempranillo. So good were these Tempranillo’s, they would rival the best Cabernet’s that California provides. So much complexity and grandeur in these wines. Spain’s flagship grape is the Tempranillo grape, about 80-90% of the world’s Tempranillo is grown in Spain.
So what wines really impressed us?
Our favorite for both Malvasia (old vines) and also old vine Tempranillo was from Dominio Del Bienamado. Both their old vine Coray (Tempranillo) and their MarMaria (Malvasia) were to die for. Tons of expressive nose, deep nuttiness and stone fruit on the Malvasia that had a lingering finish that was beyond greatness. The Coray drank as well as any complex Cabernet from Napa. These wines were simply stunning.
Other top mentions were:
Castillo Del Buen Amor (the Castle of Great Love) – which brought a delicious Pinot Noir that was so special it was also loved by the wine importer that is importing this winery fairly soon (to the USA). The Pinot was darker and richer than any Oregon Pinot and had beautifully light pepper spice notes to it, that excited the palate and elevated the finish. It was stunning. You can stay at this castle if you so choose and I am sure you will get access to these 4 varietals that they make at this small adjacent winery.
Protos – had some very nice mid priced Tempranillo’s. This winery is importing into the United States.
Bodegas Y Vinedos Vega De Yuso – Excellent Tempranillo. You get a real taste for how Tempranillo responds to oak with this winery and their 3 incarnations of TresMatas. You get the lighter, balanced, younger feeling TresMatas, out towards the tertiary rich, and oak infused deep Tempranillo that is closer to the Gran Reserva style but not a bombshell either. Delicious ladder of Tempranillo from one terroir. From a bit fruity yet oak infused, to much more layered. I like a bit fruitier simpler Tempranillo, however most of the wineries at this show were showing off their classic big stuff. at 14.5 to 15.5% in ABV and generally big wines. This winery gave us the spectrum all within one Pago. Very nice.
Pago De La Oliva – also very elegant, complex Tempranillo was the offering to the roadshow guests, and they were all excellent, from slightly fruity, to real dinner lover specials, ready to take on any (robust) foods. There was one wine here that was a bit tight and high tannin. It needed more time.
So what is a Pago? A pago in spanish wine terminology is analogous to Cru in French wine. It is one parcel, vineyard, sub-region of an AVA or region. You often see it as part of the name of some of the fine small estate vineyards/wineries, explaining to you that you are getting some wine from a special place or “Pago”.
This small event was excellent, but drinking 50-100 wines is too hard. So I could not focus on all of these fine examples of Spanish Castilla wineries. Many of the wines were in the 89-96 point class in my book. Very impressive, some like the Dominio mentioned above were just blockbuster. Sadly, not enough importers exist for this group, and they were here in the US looking for that support to sell in bulk some of their fine wines into the US west coast market. Some of these wineries are on the east coast already but penetrating the west coast was the goal here. So much Spanish wine is worth your dollar, and of course Spanish wines are also often a bargain at their level of sophistication and top shelf taste and finish. Remember a classic finish is always the hardest thing for a wine to provide so look for that part of the experience.
Enjoy a Spanish wine tonight if you can and see how it delivers from nose, to palate to finish.