Last July, the tasting prior to the launching of the fourth edition of ‘La Única’ was held in our Pagos del Rey – Ribera Duero winery. An exclusive wine that combines the elegance of Rioja wines, the power of Toro and the structure of Ribera del Duero.

‘La Única’ is a team effort intended to create an exclusive and different wine. At the same time, it enables all Pagos del Rey Wineries to exchange ways of making high-quality wines. Each Winery has selected a particular wine from their respective Designation of Origin. The characteristics have been considered according to vineyard origin, winemaking type, choice of oak, cooper, level of toasting and ageing period. This work requires not only profound technical knowledge but also knowledge of the area in which the wine is made.

Our winemakers selected eight samples from the 2018 vintage and one from 2019 with a shorter ageing period, to contribute a fruitier note. The barrels used for the ageing of these wines are all Medium Intense Toast. One or two fillings have been carried out in all of them, and the average number of ageing days has been 360.

It is important to emphasise that a highly qualified group of tasters participated in the event. Relevant figures from the world of wine and some of the most important journalists in the sector such as José Peñín, María Isabel Mijares and Juan Fernández Cuesta. The tasting, coordinated by a team of fifteen people, was held in parallel via a video conference with the most important countries in the development of exports, including Germany, England, China, Japan and the United States.

This IV Edition of ‘La Única’ will once again feature the exclusive label designed by the renowned Argentinian artist, Mariano Rinaldi Goñi. He designed the original labels of ‘La Única’. In point of fact, the name comes from his idea: during the first edition of this very special wine, of manually customising each of the labels.

The atypical 2020 harvest in Ribera del Duero has come to an end and with very positive results. This year's campaign will become the third most productive in the history of the Designation of Origin. To put it in perspective, it will exceed more than 120 million kilos of grapes. Just behind the 2016 harvest, and that of 2018, when more than 133 and 125.4 million kilos of grapes were collected, respectively.

Most of the grapes collected correspond to the red varieties and especially to Tempranillo. This year we have to take into account the incorporation of the Albillo Mayor variety into the harvest; this grape has been used since the previous campaign to produce the white wines protected under the DO. From a climate viewpoint, it has been a rather unusual year and longer than usual.

In this atypical Ribera del Duero harvest, the changing weather has played a major role. Harvesting began in September and was forced to stop two weeks later due to heavy rains that in some areas reached up to 60 litres per square metre/day. Since then, having to stop due to rainfall has been habitual compared to other years. Fortunately, the rain has alternated with the wind, which has allowed the plants to air and dry out. The result is that the fruit has arrived at the winery in excellent condition and perfect ripeness. The first tastings of this Pagos del Rey harvest, point to fresh young wines that are highly colourful and aromatic.

We must note that the situation with the pandemic has also played a part in this 2020 campaign. Fortunately, its effects on the wine have been minimal. To minimise the impact, we increased the number of local grape pickers in addition to facilitating access to control tests for seasonal workers arriving from other health zones.

Now we’re starting a new phase. The team of winemakers must continue working to be able to offer the highest quality and characteristic profile of our entire Altos de Tamarón range.