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The Wine Advocate |
The 2023 Gumiel del Mercado Village was produced exclusively with grapes from the family vineyards in their village, all now certified organic (as of 2023), from different soils and places, looking into balancing the fruit, freshness and structure through the blend. It's mostly Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) and around 5% each Garnacha and Albillo Mayor. The grapes were harvested early, each plot fermented separately with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured for 12 months in oak containers of different sizes and shapes—barrels, foudres and vats. It's fruit-driven and has notes of fresh berries, flowers and herbs, with the oak perfectly integrated, really taking me to the character of the wines from before the era of excess. It's juicy, medium-bodied, balanced and elegant, not terribly complex but very pleasant and approachable, with great purity. The parameters are 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.2 grams of acidity. Great value for money too. They produced a notable volume of this wine: 148,000 bottles! It was bottled in January 2025.
Luis Gutierrez – The Wine Advocate; Jun 19, 2025 |
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JamesSuckling.com |
“This is fragrant with blueberries, dark cherries, underbrush and dried herbs. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with refined chalky tannins and a thread of elegant and vibrant fruit. Garnacha and Albillo mayor. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold”.
JamesSuckling.com; James Suckling- July 2025 |
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Wine Review Online |
Arrocal has been among my handful of favorite producers in Ribera del Duero for well over a decade, and as responsibility for the family winery has passed to a new generation (namely, Rodrigo and Asier Calvo), the wines and packaging are benefitting from an infusion of innovative, youthful energy. This modestly priced release from estate owned and tended vineyards in the “home village” of Gumiel de Mercado comes quite close in quality to the pricier “Los Colmenares” bottling from 2023. That observation should not be taken as a knock on the 2023 Los Colmenares, but rather as an indication that nothing leaves the cellar of this bodega for sale that isn’t top-notch in quality. This is emphatically top-notch in every respect except costliness. It hasn’t yet developed tertiary aromas or flavors at this early stage in its evolution, yet it already shows impressive complexity, with both red and black fruit tones, a whiff of spices and oak toast, and some emerging savory undertones. No overtly oaky tones are evident despite the spicy, toasty accents, which are not assertive be still contribute to the wine’s level of detail. The tannins are likewise evident — as they should be — yet they offer a gentle, gripping tug in the wine’s aftertaste but without any bitterness or astringency. The blend is 85% Tinto Fino (the local name for Tempranillo), 10% Garnacha, and 5% Albillo Mayor, and the end result is a wine that is immediately enjoyable with even the lightest appetizers, but one that can also stand up to more robust fare and has at least five years of positive development ahead of it. This is an eye-popping achievement in this price category.
Michael Franz; November 19th, 2025. |
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View from the Cellar |
Bodegas Arrocal is another of the excellent producers based in the cooler, higher elevation
township of town of Gumiel de Mercado. This is quite evident, as the 2023 Village bottling tips
the scales at 13.5 percent octane this year, which is low by contemporary Ribera del Duero
standards. This bottling is composed from a blend of ninety percent Tempranillo and five percent each of Garnacha and Albillo. The wine is aged for nine months in a mix of French and American oak barrels, with the casks three years of age. It reveals a precise and youthful aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, pipe tobacco, lovely tempranillo spice tones, a complex base of soil tones, peonies and a gentle framing of oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and tangy, with a lovely core of fruit, ripe tannins, fine balance and a long, nascently complex and a vibrant, very promising finish. This is still a puppy and will need some time in the cellar to soften up its tannins, but it is going to be a lovely wine once it is ready to drink. It is an outstanding value! 2035-2075+.
John Gilman, Issue 117, May– June 2025 |
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Tim Atkin MW |
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Arrocal Village 
