Virgen de la Asuncion

Bodega Virgen de la Asuncion – Bigger than the sum of its parts

Winery: Virgen de la Asuncion

Region: Ribera del Duero

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Wine: Ricardo Dumas

 

Type: Red

 

Varietals: Tempranillo

 

Production: 8,000 bottles

 

 

Wine: Secreto de Maria

 

Type: Red

 

Varietal: Tinto Fino

 

Production: 10,000 bottles

 

Wine: Corazon de la Tierra

 

Type: Red

 

Varietal: Tinto Fino

 

Production: 4,000 bottles

 

By the way of background, we’ll start this piece providing some information on cooperatives in the wine industry.  Cooperatives now produce about 50% of wine in Europe (at least in Spain, Italy and France).  Most of this cooperative started out of necessity in time of crisis in the 20^th century.  Today some cooperatives have been able to reinvent themselves and produce high quality wines and take advantage of their size to keep investing in what matters most for a high-quality product like wine: land, produce, and people.

Bodega Virgen de la Asuncion, was born in 1957 and is one of the 12 founding wineries of the Ribera del Duero appellation.  They are located in a prime location in La Horra inside what is called the “Golden Triangle” of Ribera del Duero (Roa – La Horra – Olmedillo) and enjoy privileged conditions: weather, altitude of 800-900 meters above sea level, sandy soils that survived the phyloxera.   From the foundation of this cellar, all members understood the value of what they had and they have maintained a philosophy of maintaining high standards to keep the trust of their consumers.  Today Virgen de la Asuncion owns over 300 hectares of land.  Most of the vines are over 60 years old with some over 100 years old.  Because of this, most of the grapes are hand-picked and this is the beginning of wines that show the experience of generations committed to producing high quality wines reflecting the heart of Ribera del Duero.

We decided to begin the introduction of these cellar with three wines.  One is of the brand Ricardo Dumas.  It is a young wine, produced naturally with no added sulfites and no oak aging.  The result is a super fresh wine that is a great selection if you are getting started in the world of wine, but also if you are a wine enthusiast. You’ll love it.  We’ll complement the selection with two of their high-end wines.  They come from single vineyards that are between 60-90 years old.  Wines are aged over 12 months using either French or French and American oak barrels (see tech sheets for details).  The result is a super silky, elegant and sophisticated wine that will pair incredibly well with your meals.

The winery is also in the process of re-discovering an old white grape that you may have never heard of: Albillo.  We were lucky enough to try one of these wines and we can’t wait for production to ramp up and try to get our hands on a few cases of this wine.  This is yet another example of how this cooperative keeps finding ways of reinventing themselves to stay relevant in an ever-evolving wine industry and one of many reasons we are so excited to have them in our portfolio.  Enjoy!