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Bodegas Balbas

Winemaker Pedro de la Fuente told me that brand-new barrels are used briefly to age the bodega tinto joven and then are used for this bodega's crianza and reserva wines. He also said that the latter bottlings are aged in mostly new oak at the outset, then go into older barrels. The gran reservas may spend a long period in large old casks before being returned to smaller barrels. The reserva here generally comes from the estate's 30-year-old vines, while the gran reserva is from 100-year-old vines. Nineteen ninety-six will be the next gran reserva here following the '89. Balbas new Ardal bottling is from 25-year-old vines harvested later; this cuvee is macerated for a month. x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D Balbas was one of the first wines from the Ribera del Duero that I enjoyed on a regular basis. But as many newer-style wines have appeared in the region, and as the long-established wines have been updated, today's Balbas's bottlings strike me as frozen in time: distinctly rustic wines despite often strong underlying material, too frequently showing notes of damp earth, resin and old wood.

From The Best of Rioja and Ribera del Duero (Nov 1999) by Stephen Tanzer

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1996 Ribera Del Duero Reserva

Color: Red

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1997 Ribera Del Duero Tradicion Crianza

Color: Red

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1996 Ribera Del Duero Tradicion Crianza

Color: Red

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1994 Ardal Reserva

Color: Red

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Bodegas Balbas

1996 Ribera Del Duero Reserva

1997 Ribera Del Duero Tradicion Crianza

1996 Ribera Del Duero Tradicion Crianza

1994 Ardal Reserva

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