The 2011 Emilio Moro is pure Tempranillo from different vineyards on different soils (clay, chalk and stone) fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats and aged for one year in barrels, 50% French and 50% American. It’s dark, almost opaque, a little closed, displaying a serious, concentrated profile with aromas of plums, ripe black cherries and fine spices from the barrel. Somehow it has aromas that bring me back to the Riberas of yesteryear, notes of candied orange peel and good quality American oak. The palate is full-bodied with extremely fine tannins, big-sized but balanced and with acidity and stuffing to age magnificently in bottle. An impressive 600,000 bottles were produced, of which around 35% are exported. This is a very good value. Drink now-2019.
Emilio Moro is a leading producer of modern, ripe, exuberant, showy and well-oaked Tempranillos from Ribera del Duero, which has had a big following among fans of that style. Having said that, I found the wines better balanced, with more judicious use of the oak compared with the ones produced five years ago. They work 200 hectares of vineyards that are vinified in their winery in Pesquera de Duero. All their vineyards are planted with the old Tempranillo vines planted with branches of the old vines they had in the Valderramiro and Resalso vineyards. They replace some 15 hectares every year to keep the old average age. The wines are more integrated and balanced and show less oak than in the past, while they are warmer and richer in style than the Cepa 21 wines they also produce. They are very happy with the 2011 harvest, Javier and Jose Moro told me they consider it even better for them than 2010. On the contrary, there will be no 2012 versions of Malleolus, or the single-vineyard bottling, as the year was too warm for their liking.
Importer: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300