Why it matters
The producer
Jorge Monzón and Isabel Rodero work a 66 hectare estate in La Aguilera, planted chiefly to Tempranillo alongside red and white varieties. The vineyards include Blanca del País, Bobal, Garnacha, Albillo and Tempranillo Gris. Farming follows organic and biodynamic methods.
Dominio del Águila makes wines from broad mixed plantings as well as named parcels. The range includes Pícaro, Canta la Perdiz and Peñas Aladas Clarete Gran Reserva, with the cellar preserving whole clusters, natural yeast and oak ageing as recurring parts of the production.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
La Aguilera lies in Burgos, in one of the highest and coldest areas of Ribera del Duero. The vineyards sit between 800 and 900 metres, placing the vines in a cool highland setting within the appellation.
The range includes a fresher Ribera del Duero style in Pícaro Tinto, where elegance is emphasized over extraction. Other bottles narrow the address to a single vineyard or retain the field planted character of old parcels.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Farming is certified organic. In the cellar, natural yeast begins fermentation, whole clusters remain with the grapes, and pigeage is done by foot. Stems can add perfume, spice and tannin, while foot treading mixes the skins and juice during fermentation.
After primary fermentation, the wines go into oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing. Oak allows slow oxygen contact and can soften tannin while adding spice. Isabel Rodero, an architect, supervised the renovation of three underground cellars dating to the fifteenth century beneath the village. Their cold subterranean conditions slow the wines' development and allow greater complexity and nuance.
Wines to know
The range in view
Pícaro Tinto is the red counterpart to Pícaro Clarete, presented as a fresher Ribera del Duero style. Pícaro del Águila is Tempranillo led, with Garnacha, Bobal and Tempranillo Gris among its red and white varieties. The grapes are vinified together, fermented in concrete with whole bunches and traditional foot treading, then aged for 12 months in French oak barrels.
Canta la Perdiz is a single vineyard wine from a south facing parcel of ungrafted vines. The documented blend is 80% Tempranillo, with Bruñal, Albillo, Bobal and Cariñena making up the rest.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Canta la Perdiz is the bottle to open first. It comes from one south facing vineyard of ungrafted vines dating well into the nineteenth century, with 80% Tempranillo and four accompanying varieties in the documented blend.