Dominio del Aguila Vinas Viejas Albillo 2016
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Ribera del Duero did not admit white wine to its appellation until 2019, and by then Jorge Monzón had been bottling Albillo Mayor for years. Monzón interned at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti under Bernard Noblet, worked at Vega Sicilia, and became technical director at Arzuaga-Navarro; while working for others he bought up old, interplanted vineyards around his hometown of La Aguilera that were in danger of being ripped out, and in 2010 he founded Dominio del Águila there with his wife, the architect Isabel Rodero. The certified organic estate sits at 800 to 900 meters, with some vines planted before phylloxera, and the Albillo grows on sandy clay-limestone, clay, and gravel. Monzón keeps only the small-clustered Albillo that turns deep gold when fully ripe, foot-presses whole clusters into neutral French oak, and ferments with native yeasts in 15th-century cellars dug into the bedrock beneath the village. The 2016 spent nearly three years in barrel on its fine lees, close to two of them still fermenting, before it was bottled by hand, unfined and unfiltered. Ripe citrus, quince, and yellow plum lead, over flint, toasted bread, and white pepper; the palate is full-bodied and finely structured, with excellent freshness, discreet oak, and a long, chalky finish. The label calls it a vino de guarda, a wine for keeping, and it has now been kept in bottle for more than seven years.
