Bodegas Nabal possesses an enviable dedication to their wines. They are never satisfied and always strive to push the boundaries of the quality levels they can achieve through meticulous care in both vineyard and cellar. It is precisely for this reason that Nabal’s wines only get better, vintage after vintage.
This is also thanks, in part, to winemaker Óscar Navarro — a man best described as a grown-up child at play, unafraid to take risks and try new things in his pursuit of creating incomparable wine. Thanks to his open-minded and innovative approach, Bodegas Nabal can produce outstanding cuvées such as this Ribera del Duero Crianza.
In this wine, oak ageing has been deliberately restrained compared to what is usually expected from Ribera del Duero, and with good reason. The vineyards’ northern location gives an exceptional cool-climate fruit profile, which deserves a prominent place on the wine’s flavour stage. Prepare yourself for an expressive, powerful, and forward-thinking Ribera del Duero, where layer upon layer of dark fruit, spice, and well-integrated oak sweep across the palate in what feels like coordinated waves of nuanced flavour. The estate’s modern and forward-looking style is unmistakable, and it is refreshing to experience Tempranillo treated with the seriousness it receives at Bodegas Nabal.
The grapes come from 50–80-year-old bush vines planted in selected vineyards in the coolest areas of Burgos province. The soils are varied but mainly composed of clay and limestone. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with frequent punch-overs to further extract colour, aroma, and tannin. The wine is then aged for 14–16 months in 100% new oak barrels, 80% French and 20% American.
94/100 points | Flaskehalsen
“5/6 stars: Impressive quality for the price. It is difficult to make great wine without compromise. Either you compromise with the traditions of your region, or you compromise with what the wine itself expresses when you avoid interfering in its processes. But at Nabal, they manage something close to uncompromising — at least in terms of the estate’s own path. In this Crianza, this results in an impressively balanced wine, with plenty of body, depth, and power on one side — and freshness, acidity, and elegance on the other. The grapes come from vines in the northernmost Ribera del Duero, where the diurnal temperature variation is even more pronounced than in the rest of the area. This makes it possible to craft a wine that shows the grapes’ full ripeness alongside the fresh acidity from the seeds, which never reach high enough temperatures to break down. The wine is aged for 14–16 months in a mix of French and American oak, with the 80–20 ratio in favour of French barrels being a well-judged choice. The result is a beautifully balanced Ribera del Duero that tastes magnificent now but has enough freshness and acidity to age gracefully if you wish to cellar it.”
91/100 points | Thomas Rydberg
“Intense in expression, with black berries, espresso, tobacco, violets, and vanilla. Well-crafted and very classic, showcasing Tempranillo from the area in fine style. Long finish, ending with a meaty note.”
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