Alma Carraovejas USA

The curtain has closed on harvest 2024 for the wineries of Alma Carraovejas. Each year is a unique production begun by Mother Nature and stewarded by our dedicated and talented teams of viticulture and enology specialists without whom this wouldn’t be possible. Below are a few pictures of the behind the scenes work carried out this season. This is more than our work, this is our passion. A tribute to those who came before, a promise to those who will follow, and a humble performance dedicated to you. We look forward to sharing the wines of 2024 with you, and to knowing that you will be the main actors of the final scene, carrying our story forward at your tables and in your glasses. Salud!

Alma Carraovejas made the rounds in the USA last week from the Windy City to the Golden Gate with a swing down to Los Angeles. It was a pleasure to taste through our newest releases of Pago de Carraovejas, Aiurri, Milsetentayseis, Viña Meín, Emilio Rojo, and Ossian. Keep an eye out in your fave local restaurants and bottle shops in Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. You don’t want to miss out on these exquisite Spanish wines.

You might not expect to find yourself in rugged, rocky mountains just outside of one of Spain’s largest metropolitan cities, but that is exactly where you’ll find Bodegas Marañones. Welcome to the foothills of the Sierra de los Gredos region of the DO Vinos de Madrid, and to Bodegas Marañones, a setting of exceptional scenic richness and a benchmark for the region that has developed a cult-like status among wine enthusiasts for its vibrant Garnachas and bewitching Albillo Reals. Today, we’ll fly over Bodegas Marañones’ bush vines of Garnacha and Albillo Real in soils of slate, granite, and schist. Farmed organically, these “heroic vineyards,” 30 to 70 years in age, are planted in remote areas at altitudes of 2,000 to 3,000 feet. Here the terrain not only pushes the vines of Garnacha and Albillo Real to their limits, but also those tending the vines that can only access the area by mule. But while it may not be easy, the quality of the fruit that results from this continental climate region is second to none.

Extraordinary conditions equate to extraordinary wine. James Suckling's recent high scores for Pago de Carraovejas are proof of that. The vertically trained vines grow along the southeast-facing hills of the Botijas River Valley, located in the Castilla y León Region of Spain. The soil, dating back 66 million years to the Tertiary period, is a unique blend of limestone, red clay, and white loam, with low granulometry (small particle size) and high water retention. At first sip, Senior Editor Zekun Shuai shares his impressions of these noteworthy wines. 95 - Pago de Carraovejas Ribera del Duero Cuesta de Las Liebres 2020 A benchmark Ribera del Duero when it comes to quality. Expect the fine integration of high-grade wood, showing notes of peppermint, spices, truffles, dark chocolate, grilled herbs and dark cherry and blackberry fruit. More restrained in oak use compared with the old vintages for sure. Full-bodied and resolved, with seamless, powdery tannins and a juicy, tightly wound finish. Even, polished and effortless for such remarkable balance. It has a high level of concentration, with plush, integrated oak. 93 - Pago de Carraovejas Ribera del Duero El Anejón 2020 Rich, deep and complex nose of baked plums, dark cherries, cocoa powder, hoisin sauce, black mushrooms and mussel shells. Effortlessly full-bodied with abundant, powdery tannins on the palate. Long and densely packed, yet really polished. Drink or hold. 93- Pago de Carraovejas Ribera del Duero 2022 A concentrated, dense Ribera del Duero, but there is a lot to like if you enjoy plushness, with its lush blackberry fruit and dark chocolate. Fine-grained and full-bodied on the palate, but fresh and still pretty tense, with chalky tannins. Drink from 2025. #alma #almacarraovejas #pagodecarraovejas Alma Carraovejas USA James Suckling Zekun Shuai

Welcome to green Spain! This is Viña Meín-Emilio Rojo, two small Alma Carraovejas vineyards together since 1987 in the Avia Valley of the Ribeiro. Viña Meín was originally a group of small houses, mountains, and vineyards in the Galicia region of Spain. It was known as “Casa Labora” and has always been a recognised place of grape production since the Middle Ages. Today it is a collection of 12 small plots across 40 acres. Emilio Rojo is both a vineyard and its viticulturist. After training and working as an engineer outside of Galicia, Emilio Rojo returned to the region of Ribeiro and resumed the work of his father’s small winery in Arnoia. In 1987, Emilio Rojo also began working a small abandoned family vineyard also in the Avia Valley, a legacy of his wife Julia. The small vineyard, less than three acres in size, is arranged on several terraces and walls that outline the geometry of the terrain. Together Viña Meín-Emilio Rojo offer three exquisite white wines emblematic of the region, the talent, and the history.

Senior Editor Zekun Shuai of James Suckling shared a wine tasting with CEO Pedro Ruiz Aragoneses of Alma Carraovejas, set against the stunning backdrop of the Peñafiel Castle in Spain’s Ribera del Duero. Among the wines tasted were those from the esteemed Milsetentayseis vineyard, known for its century-old, goblet-trained vines at high altitudes. What characteristics stood out to Zekun, earning these wines impressive 94 and 95 ratings? Read here ↓ 95- Milsetentayseis Ribera del Duero Tinto 2021 Immediately arresting on the nose with its jumpy aromas of dried herbs, white pepper, mushrooms and minerals on top of the red cherries and berries. Full-bodied and powerful, with an abundance of chalky tannins. Long and very focused. From organically grown grapes. 94 - Milsetentayseis Ribera del Duero La Peña 2022 This is a serious Ribera del Duero rosado that might be one of the best from the region, if not the country. Minerally nose with subtle cream, elegant berry and grapefruit expressions. Full and tense, with concentrated flavors and a long, zesty, super-bright finish. From organically grown grapes. #almacarraovejas #milsetentayseis

Join us as we soar over the village of Fuentenebro, Spain to the vineyards of Milsetentayseis, the highest in the region, sitting at 1,076 meters above sea level in Ribera del Duero. A project of recovered ancestral vines of Tempranillo, Albillo, Monastrell, Grenache, 75 to 100-years-old, we’ll tour the Lituero and La Peña vineyards. Here in soils of red clay and limestone with quartz, mica, and feldspar interspersed throughout are where the winery’s two iconic wines, the 1076 Tinto and 1076 La Peña, begin. We’ll end this journey in the cellar, where the grapes’ next adventure begins. Here, each small plot for 1076 Tinto and 1076 La Peña are vinified separately to express the characteristics of each soil and environment. But that’s where your story begins…

Hot off the press: “Immediately arresting on the nose with its jumpy aromas of dried herbs, white pepper, mushrooms and minerals on top of the red cherries and berries. Full-bodied and powerful, with an abundance of chalky tannins. Long and very focused. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.” 95 points Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor, James Suckling

Taking to the skies again today as we visit another Alma Carraovejas project. Today we’ll discover Ossian Vides y Vinos as we fly over one of the oldest vineyards in Europe beginning in the pre-phylloxera vines of the vineyard Peña Aguda and its sister vineyard, Las Barrasas. With five centuries of winemaking and vines more than 200 years old, Ossian was the first certified organic vineyard in the Rueda DO. These pre-phylloxera vines of Segovian Verdejo are planted in ancient soils which act as a key defense against phylloxera. They also allow the roots of these centenary vines to run deep, lending both minerality and greater balance to the three wines of Ossian. The authentic Segovian Verdejo made at Ossian, begins with hand harvesting of the grapes at the optimal moment of ripeness. The grapes are fermented with indigenous yeast in both barrels and stainless. The oak aging of our Verdejo adds layers of complexity, richness, and texture to the wines, which can then age for many years.

Today, we’re going to soar above our namesake property, Pago de Carraovejas on the slopes near Peñafiel in Spain’s Ribera del Duero. Pago de Carraovejas, founded by José María Ruíz in 1987, is one of oldest family run wineries in the region. The 545 acre vineyard sits at 2,950 feet above sea level on 30 to 50 degree slopes in soils of sandstone, loam, limestone, and clay. The vineyard is delineated into 100 different plots based on a soil study conducted with the Soil Science Department of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Each plot is worked individually to best reflect its origins. The vineyards are undergoing the extensive organic certification process and feature anti-frost mills, an intelligent irrigation system to reduce water consumption, insect habitats and pollinator stations, as well as numerous areas of woodland to increase the biodiversity of the land. Once the grapes are hand-harvested, they are brought to our state-of-the-art winery where a double sorting process is conducted and only those berries that meet the optimum requirements are used. They are then gravity fed to the fermentation tanks. As the first to use gravity in the Ribera del Duero, Pago de Carraovejas utilizes the gentle process throughout the winemaking and aging of the wine. The wines here, the Pago de Carraovejas, the El Anejón, and the Cuesta de las Liebres, age between 12 to 24 months, followed by another six to 24 in bottle. We invite you to experience Pago de Carraovejas for yourself - here at our property in the Ribera del Duero or in the comfort of your home. Either way, we promise you an experience to remember.