Grapes: 100% Tinto Fino (90-95 year old vines)
Vintage: 2005
Color: Red
Aurelio’s second child, Christina was born in 2005. To commemorate this special event, he worked with 5 different wineries in Ribera del Duero to create 5 different special cuvees of wine for Christina. Aurelio picked Ribera del Duero for a number of reasons including that his family’s roots are from the region and that in his estimation some of the best wines in Spain are made there. The wines from Ribera del Duero display a unique combination of finesse, balance, power and intensity. Using only the best vineyard sites, a selection of the best grapes from old vines, and made in cooperation with some of the most talented winemakers of the region, each of the five wines shows the character of the excellent 2005 vintage along with unique personality of its particular vineyard.
Made from a single vineyard in La Horra from 90-95 year old vines, the yield from this vineyard is less than 1 ton/acre. Grapes are hand-harvested and de-stemmed but not crushed prior to fermentation in stainless steel. The wine was aged in new French oak barrels for 13 months before being racked to another set of new French oak barrels for an additional 9 months of aging.
The 2005 Neo Christina was produced from a single vineyard of 90- to 95-year-old Tinto Fino vines with microscopic yields. It was aged for 13 months in new French oak for 13 months before being racked into another set of new French oak for an additional 9 months (the so-called “200% new oak” treatment). Dense purple/black in color, it offers up a brooding perfume of toasty new oak, slate, floral notes, espresso, licorice, and blackberry liqueur. This leads to a large-scaled, back-strapping wine with big fruit and full tannin. The wine appears to have the balance for a long and graceful evolution but your patience and your youth will be required. It should reach its peak drinking window by 2020 and continue to provide pleasure through 2035. Issue 175, February '08
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
92
Inky ruby. Pungent, exotically scented bouquet of bright red and dark berries, Asian spices, gingerbread and smoky minerals. Deeply concentrated raspberry and blueberry flavors coat the palate, with suave minerality and cinnamon and nutmeg notes contributing brightness. Picks up licorice and mocha nuances on the finish, which leaves a strong note of bitter cherry skin behind. Very nicely balanced wine with the sex appeal to allow for early drinking. Issue 139, July/Aug '08
Wine Spectator
90
This alluring, modern-style red delivers a ripe core of plum and blackberry fruit, framed in chocolate and spicy oak notes. It’s lively, with balanced tannins and juicy acidity. Drink now through 2015. Issue 3312, November 30 '08
