Why it matters
The producer
Four generations of Roderos grew Tempranillo on the high plateau above the Duero river and sold every grape to other houses. In 1990 Carmelo Rodero ended that arrangement. He built his own winery in Pedrosa de Duero, kept the fruit, and released his first wine under the Rodero name in 1991. The estate now covers more than 120 hectares of vineyards and caps yields at 3,500 kilograms per hectare across all parcels.
Carmelo's daughters Beatriz and María, the fifth generation of grape growers in the family, now run the operation. Beatriz has been technical director since 2008, trained first in agricultural engineering and then at the University of Bordeaux, where she earned the Diplôme National d'Oenologue. María oversees commercial operations and global sales. Together they manage a six-wine portfolio built entirely around red wine from the plateau vineyards.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Pedrosa de Duero sits within the Ribera del Duero appellation in the province of Burgos, at elevations between 820 and 855 metres above sea level. That altitude shapes everything the winery produces. Nights on the plateau cool sharply after warm summer days, slowing the final stages of ripening and preserving the acidity that keeps Tempranillo from becoming heavy and flat. The Duero river below acts as a moderating influence on the wider appellation climate, but the plateau vineyards above Pedrosa are exposed, high, and dry. The fruit that comes off them carries concentration alongside freshness, two qualities that rarely arrive together at lower altitudes.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The yield ceiling of 3,500 kilograms per hectare applies across all vineyards. At that level, each cluster carries more flavour and more colour than it would at the higher yields common in commercial production. The 9 Meses draws from 20-year-old vines planted between 824 and 855 metres; vine age at that maturity means smaller berries and more concentrated juice per kilogram of fruit.
In the cellar, Carmelo's patented gravity system removes the pump from every transfer. Mechanical pumping applies pressure to the must, introduces oxygen through agitation, and heats the wine in transit. Moving wine by gravity alone keeps handling at a minimum and the wine at ambient temperature throughout. For a producer working at 550,000 bottles a year, that is not a small technical commitment: the cellar had to be designed and built to make gravity usable at scale, which is what the 2005 patent covers.
Wines to know
The range in view
All six wines are red, all built on Tinto Fino. The portfolio moves from the approachable 9 Meses at the entry level through the single-vineyard Raza range at the top, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot appearing in some of the mid-range blends. Syrah and Petit Verdot have been planted experimentally.
Rodero 9 Meses is 100% Tempranillo from 20-year-old vines. Nine months in new French oak give the wine its name and its character: dark cherry and blueberry fruit, a broad mouth-filling texture, vanilla lift from the new wood, and a finish that lingers without gripping. Bright acidity from the altitude keeps the oak from overwhelming the fruit. This is the most accessible wine in the range.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Rodero 9 Meses is the right starting bottle. It is 100% Tempranillo from vines planted at 824 to 855 metres, aged nine months in new 225-litre French oak barrels, and it delivers the clearest statement of what this cellar does: ripe plateau fruit, broad texture, and the fresh acidity that keeps the wine from fatigue. Dark cherry and blueberry come up first on the nose, the palate is wide and smooth, and the finish holds without clenching. It is not a complex wine, but it is a clear one, and it shows directly why high-altitude Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero tastes different from the grape grown at lower elevation in Rioja.