Following several successful offerings of the flagship Pago de Carrovejas Ribera del Duero, and after a recent visit to the winery and tasting of the entire Alma Carraovejas portfolio, I’m delighted to extend our First Release this year to include three additional wines, one of their top Ribera del Duero wines alongside two exceptional whites from the Ossian estate.
Order by midday on Thursday 30th July
The Alma Carraovejas group is the vision of the Ruiz Aragoneses family, led by young entrepreneur Pedro Ruiz, which grew from the foundations of Pago de Carraovejas. What began as a single winery has evolved into a collection of distinctive wine and gastronomic projects, including the two estates featured in this offer, all sharing a respect for exceptional vineyards and an uncompromising pursuit of excellence.
Carraovejas, Ribera del Duero
The first vintage of Pago de Carraovejas was released in 1991. Its origins lie almost entirely with one man, José María Ruiz, who, after representing Spain in the world sommelier championships, founded a Segovia restaurant dedicated to exceptional suckling pig at a time when lamb dominated the local gastronomy. The restaurant became renowned for pigs so tender they could be carved with the edge of a plate, attracting locals and even Premier League football teams. Realising there was no wine elegant enough to match the dish, José María created his own – and Pago de Carraovejas was born.
Today, the estate continues to thrive under Pedro Ruiz’s vision and the expertise of winemaker Almudena Calvo. We are delighted to include El Anejón, one of the estate’s top cuvées, from a remarkable south-east-facing terraced vineyard overlooking the Carraovejas Valley. Planted with tinto fino, alongside cabernet sauvignon and merlot, its limestone-clay soils deliver a wine of depth, power and structure.
Ossian, Rueda
Verdejo is the sole grape behind both Ossian wines. Although the vineyards lie within the neighbouring DO Rueda, the team at Alma de Carraovejas chooses to label them as VDT Castilla y León, distancing the wines from the entry-level perception often associated with both the region and the variety.
The Ruiz Aragoneses family's journey with Ossian began in 2013, before they took full ownership of the estate in 2016. Since then, Pedro has devoted himself to studying and classifying the estate's historic plant material while restoring old vineyards planted entirely with ungrafted, pre-phylloxera verdejo vines. Both wines in this offer, Ossian and the single-vineyard Capitel, come from these exceptional sites. The wines are gaining cult status, and it’s easy to see why with the combination of combine remarkable concentration, purity, precision and finesse.
