Why it matters
The producer
Bodegas Felix Callejo farms 58 hectares across 27 separate parcels in Sotillo de la Ribera, a village inside the Ribera del Duero appellation on the high plateau of Castilla y León. Félix Callejo founded the estate in 1989. His four children now run it: José Félix and Noelia as the enologists, Cristina as export manager, Beatriz in sales.
Before taking over the family operation, José Félix and Noelia spent years training at named estates abroad: José Félix at Petrus in Bordeaux and Torres in Chile, Noelia at Araujo in California and Cobos in Argentina. They returned to a 58-hectare plateau estate where every parcel sits on a different combination of chalk, clay, sand, and limestone. Tim Atkin MW named them both Winemakers of the Year in 2021.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Ribera del Duero is a red-wine appellation running east to west along the Duero river valley in Castilla y León, at altitudes mostly between 750 and 900 metres above sea level. That altitude is not incidental. Continental conditions bring warm days and cold nights during the growing season, slowing ripening and holding acidity in the grape. Tempranillo, the dominant variety across the appellation, retains its fresh red-fruit character better at this elevation than it would further south.
Sotillo de la Ribera sits in the western part of the Ribera del Duero zone, where calcareous soils, chalky sub-soils, and a mix of clay, sand, and limestone underlie the vineyards. The 27 separate parcels that the Callejo estate farms across these soils are not a single contiguous block. Each plot sits on a different soil combination, giving the winery access to varying drainage rates, water retention, and mineral profiles across the growing season.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The estate farms 58 hectares divided across 27 parcels, with Tempranillo as the primary variety throughout. Vines are grown at high altitude on mixed soils, under a continental climate that produces strong diurnal temperature variation through the growing season. The cold nights preserve freshness in the grapes and push back full physiological ripeness, which affects the acidity and aromatic profile at harvest.
Wines to know
The range in view
The estate's range centres on Tempranillo, with Flores de Callejo at the entry level.
Flores de Callejo opens with fresh red fruit: ripe strawberries, raspberries, and red cherry, with redcurrant underneath adding lift. Floral notes rise with the fruit. Then vanilla and a trace of toast from the short time in 500-litre French oak. In the mouth, the wine is medium-bodied with light tannins. The bright acidity from high-altitude growing keeps it lively across the palate and prevents the red fruit from feeling heavy. The finish is clean and moderately long, with the fruit fading before the faint spice and pepper notes. The wine drinks well without food but holds up to simple red meat or lamb.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Flores de Callejo is the bottle to start with. It is a Ribera del Duero Tempranillo aged briefly in large French oak and stainless steel, manually harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts on the family's 58-hectare estate in Sotillo de la Ribera. The large-format oak keeps the wine fresh rather than woody. The fruit is forward and exact: red cherries, ripe strawberry, light pepper, a clean floral note. The acidity is firm enough to give the wine shape without making it austere. It is an honest representation of what high-altitude Tempranillo can be when the cellar choices favour the grape over the barrel.