Ribera del Duero criticized despite success

The results of the Decanter Panel tasting were really not that bad - two wines were even awarded with five stars and another 21 received four stars - but that was it. "I would have never expected such poor wines from a wine-growing region that advertises itself as a first-class production source", says Pierre Mansour, purchasing agent for Spanish wines at The Wine Society. "I really only found few interesting wines at the tasting. I would even go so far as to say that this was the most disappointing Panel tasting the Decanter ever held".

Another member of the jury, Carlos Rincón, admits: "We are dealing with a wine region that has hade such a good reputation and in which we invested so much. I really expected a lot more". Master of Wine Sarah Jane Evans, who is responsible for Spanish wines at the Decanter, tries to analyze the situation and says: "The problem is that there was a break of style. With almost every wine I tasted I asked myself whether this was Ribera Del Duero that I was drinking. Quite frankly, this tasting really confused me".

Pierre Mansour has the feeling that the overuse of oak was the main problem. "There was situations during the tasting that I asked myself whether I was doing an oak tasting instead of a wine tasting. I mean, yes, there were some glamorous wines, however, they were produced very costly and with a lot of effort, but for all others, the oak taste was way too dominant".

Even John Radfort, wine and seminar professional, blamed the problem on oak. He says: "There is vintners in the Ribera Del Duero that believe that French oak should be used for everything. If they are not content or confident with the grape material at the end of a harvest, they leave the wine in French barriques for 12 months and think that the oak is going to cover all these problems up - but that's not the case".

"This has been a problem in Spain for many years now, not only in the Ribera del Duero", says Radfort. "However, I don't think that this tasting was as bad as my colleagues said it was. 2007 was not a very easy year for Spain like it was in 2005. Maybe, the Spanish producers should have let everyone know to drink the 2007 vintage very early..." (red.yoopress)