I’ve been complaining a bit about the over-oaked state of many Spanish wines lately and probably the worst region for it is Ribera del Duero.  There’s no denying that some of Spain’s best reds come from the area….reds from a robust variant of Tempranillo called Tinto Fino.  Tinto Fino gives wines of great body and structure that do well in new oak.  Many wine-makers have taken that favorable characteristic and taken it too far.  Many top Riberas have way too much oak despite their great fruit and structure….many of my clients have been disappointed by tastings of top Riberas lately.  Inexpensive Riberas are often tough and hollow…lacking in fruit.  It’s not an inexpensive region by Spanish standards….I have found few Riberas below 20€ that I have really liked.  I tasted an Emilio Moro Crianza the other day…it used to be one of my favorites…it’s good value for Ribera at 17€, but the 2005 I tasted the other day was overly oaky.  One of my favorite wineries in Ribera is Dominio de Atauta…they make a range of blends and single vineyards wines that really stand apart from other Riberas…they really focus on terroir.  They are very intense and focused with lean, elegant fruit and great acidity…most importantly they are very carefully and moderately oaked.  Ferratus, the wine I’m rating below, is a new winery (2003) that has garnered some great ratings from Spanish critics.  I am not so impressed.  Read on for my detailed rating.

Wine:  Ferratus 2004
Winery:  Bodegas Cuevas Jimenez
Denominacion de Origen (DO): Ribera del Duero
Alc: 14%
Grape varieties: 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)
Oak regime:  14 months in new French (80%) and American (20%) oak
Price:  18-20€ retail in Madrid

Tasting notes
Visual:  Intense opaque black ruby color.
Nose:  Attractive nose with blackberry and blueberry fruit and spicy oak…very promising.       
Mouth:  A bit disappointing.  The fruit is not as rich in the mouth and the tannins are huge…I can only imagine how tough they were when this wine was released!  The oak is well-integrated and there is good acidity but it ends on a tough, overly tannic finish.

Conclusion: This wine avoids the usual transgression of too much oak, but the tannins are bitingly hard and unripe.  The fruit is not big or fresh enough at this point to wait for the tannins to smooth enough.  With aeration, the wine opened up a bit but never came into balance.  20€ is too pricy for this quality in Spanish wine. 

For more on over-oaking in Spain read my previous post at:  http://www.planetavino.net/2009/02/07/pingus-winemaker-sisseck-more-wary-of-new-oak/