Bohórquez, Ribera del Duero 2009

Although a relatively young outfit, Bohórquez is part-owned by top-quality sherry producer Sánchez-Romate and has benefited greatly from their influence and knowledge.

They are based in the Ribera del Duero, itself a relatively young region. Although it is the second most famous area for fine Spanish red wine production next to Rioja, it can’t boast the latter’s rich history: it rose rapidly to fame when the Spaniards themselves became enamoured with the wines and news spread quickly to other countries.

Bohórquez has a remarkably tiny production – they don’t even have a cellar door for people to visit and purchase their wines on site – but their proximity to the prestigious Pesquera winery mean they can take advantage of some of the region’s finest vineyard sites. Despite their impressive neighbours, there doesn’t seem to be much ‘keeping up with the Joneses’: almost all of the money they make goes on improving the vineyards and winery, rather than improving the appearance of their premises.

A key vineyard technique is to encourage natural competition: vines are planted in the poorest soil at double the density of many other vineyards in order to naturally reduce production. This gives the wines a brilliant concentration and encourages them to transmit more of the essence of the soil, but crucially it also guarantees a solid, firm skin – something Bohórquez claims is the secret to their wine.

Painstaking labour in the vineyard – such as thorough pruning and cluster extraction – ensures a slow, balanced maturation to preserve the grapes’ best characteristics, but it isn’t easy: extreme differences in temperature between the fiercely hot summers and cold winters cause a lot of vintage variation, so planning when to harvest can be quite a logistical challenge.

Likewise when it comes to vinification, every detail is considered: grapes are transported to the winery in very small crates to prevent aromas being lost through the grapes pressing down on each other, and they use smaller stainless steel tanks than normal when fermenting the wine to keep the temperatures regulated. While the wine ages for over a year in barrels, they are even careful not to stack them too high, also to prevent temperature variation.

Unlike many of their neighbours who try to emulate the new world’s high-alcohol, ‘fruit bomb’ style of wine, Bohórquez wines are almost claret-like in style (although made with tempranillo).

Their passionate attention to detail twinned with the difficult growing conditions means that some years they don’t make their signature wine if they don’t feel it will meet their exacting standards: in these years, they make their second wine – Momo – which offers incredible value for money.