Hacienda Monasterio Reserva 2011 75cl

The 2011 Reserva has a jammy nose with notes of toffee-caramel (dulce de leche, and not because I've just returned from Argentina!), very ripe plums and cherries without being overripe. The reservas are always 80% Tempranillo and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this 2011 was bottled in September 2013, so it was nearly two years in barrique as it was a powerful, ripe harvest and Peter Sisseck is experimenting with longer aging. It's an opulent, ripe, hedonistic Ribera with a medium-bodied palate; it's more fluid than I expected, nicely textured and rich without excess. A ripe, showy reserva. 17,169 bottles. I tasted the latest releases from Hacienda Monasterio with winemaker Peter Sisseck. They are, year in and year out, among the best and most reliable wines from Ribera del Duero, with a superb Crianza in 2012, possibly their best ever. Even if the wines are not cheap, they are very good value for the quality they deliver. I also had the chance to catch up and drink a bottle of their 1996 Crianza, a particular favorite of mine, with proprietor Carlos del Río and his son, a few weeks later; it remains a superb wine, still young and lively. They have recently bought a majority share of the Montecastro winery also in Ribera del Duero to produce a complementary range of wines (read cheaper) to those from Monasterio.