This is the first vintage of Gran Reserva released by the husband and wife team of Jorge Monzon and Isabel Rodero that is Dominio de Aguila. Over the past decade this outstanding winery has gone from "one to watch" to one of the leading wineries in the region. "About their work, their vineyards are certified organic; they do not own a destemmer and everything is fermented with indigenous yeasts and in a very traditional way: foot treading the bunches to free the juice, fermenting all the grapes from the field blend of varieties (always dominated by Tempranillo or Albillo) together in slow fermentations in very cold cellars and the wines also require a long and slow aging in oak barrels. These are true "vins de garde."" Luis Gutierrez

"The great news here is that their first Gran Reserva is about to be released under the name 2010 Penas Aladas Gran Reserva. It is sourced from small plots of vineyards in a quarter of the Aguilera vineyards, known locally as Penas Aladas (winged stones?), although the spelling might vary according to the locals you might talk to, where they own some very old vineyards that are surrounded by pine tree forests. The old vineyards have a mixture of grapes, always dominated by Tempranillo, but with others (Carinena, Brunal, Bobal, Albillo...) that make up around 15% of the volume of the wine. The full clusters fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and the wine aged slowly for 51 months in oak in a very cold cave where the aging is extremely slow, as the low temperatures (the ideal 12 C all year round) make wines evolve at a glacial pace. The wine was raised in barrel until they felt the tannins had achieved the velvety texture they were looking for. The nose is incredibly perfumed with notes of violets, wild berries and plenty of Asian spices; it is quite heady, properly ripe (without excess), complex and very showy. The palate is velvety but with chalky tannins that cling to your teeth and make it very tasty with an austere minerality. There is great freshness and gobsmacking balance. Believe it or not, this is still a baby that should have a very long life in bottle. 2010 was definitively a great vintage and this wine shows it. Simply superb, fine, elegant Ribera del Duero for the future; I'd love to revisit this in 2023! 1,100 bottles produced." Luis Gutierrez The Wine Advocate 96 points. Written Oct. 2015.