Astrales

"This wine manifests the idiosyncrasy of the land; with a northern character, defined by its finesse, aromatic complexity and balance." —
Pepe Hidalgo, winemaker
Appellation
Ribera del Duero D.O.
Grape(s)
100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)
Altitude/Soil
820-880 meters / clay rich alluvial soil
Farming Methods
Traditional methods, no herbicide use
Harvest
Hand harvested into small boxes
Production
Grape bunches are hand sorted prior to fermentation and malolactic conversion in stainless steel tank
Aging
Aged between 16-18 months in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 33% new
Suggested Retail Price
$65
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
Astrales 2010
96 (WE) 93 (Decanter) 92 (IWC)
Score Publication Review Copy
96 Wine Enthusiast This could be the best Astrales to date. Alluring scents of plum, blueberry and spice are backed by balsam dust and briary pipe-tobacco aromas. Deep and tannic on the palate, then packed with mocha, chocolate, toasted marshmallow, cassis and cherry cough drop flavors, this is fixed and firm now, with a staunch, intense, nervy finish.
Editor’s Choice Issue 2708, September 2014
93 Decanter Magazine Big fruit palate; powerful tannins underpinning great concentration. Hint of liquorice and peppery spice on the finish - very long; needs time.
18/20 pts (93) Radford’s 10 of the best list - November 2012
92 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Stains the palate with intense raspberry and floral pastille flavors, picking up notes of mocha and licorice with aeration. Shows a seamless quality on the penetrating, focused, very long finish.
Issue 170 - Sept/Oct 2013
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Astrales 2011
93 (WRO) 92 (WE)
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93 Wine Review Online I always love this wine, but due to a very prominent overlay of oak in this vintage, it will take a little longer than usual for the 2011 to display all of its charms. Impressively dark in color, its appearance is very promising, but the aromas are dominated by scents of toast and smoke. The palate displays much more generosity, with dark berry and cherry flavors and pleasantly earthy, savory undertones. The finish then turns a bit hard and dry, with wood tannins re-asserting themselves. Very good now, and quite probably outstanding in another 5 years, this is a good bet for the cellar.”
“Keeping Spain on the Map” October 21, 2014
92 Wine Enthusiast Ripe, loamy aromas of black fruits are accented by notes of sandalwood, graphite and exotic spices. This is chunky and a bit jammy in feel. Flavors of smoky oak, berry fruits and chocolate finish with bakingspice flavors that are woven into black-fruit tastes. Drink through 2021.
Issue 2710 - November 2014
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Astrales 2014
95 (WRO) 93+ (VfC) 93 (WE) 93 (JS) 92 (VM) 92 (RP) 91 (WS)
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95 Wine Review Online In a lineup of 12 exemplary Spanish wines that I showed during a class last week, this was the consensus winner. Although this is a “big” wine in terms of concentration, depth of flavor and sheer flavor impact, it also shows purity and class at every sensory point from the first whiff to the last whisper of flavor in the long finish. There’s a notable dose of spicy, toasty oak, but it is perfectly proportioned in relation to the overall weight of the wine and its intensity of fruit. Soft flavors or dark berries and black cherries are totally seductive, and at its current stage of development, there’s also a savory undertone beginning to emerge from bottle aging. I reviewed this in mid-summer of 2017, scoring it at 93. As things have turned out, my score was too low, as the wines has exceeded my already-high expectations for it. Mea Culpa. This is a complete and obviously terrific wine.
Michael Franz - October 30, 2018
93+ View from the Cellar The 2014 Astrales Tinto from Bodegas Astrales is produced from forty year-old bush vines of tempranillo and raised in a combination of seventy percent French casks and thirty percent American barrels, with twenty percent of the oak new. The 2014 is 14.5 percent octane and offers up a really superb bouquet of cassis, black plums, cigar wrapper, a fine base of soil, a touch of balsam bough, woodsmoke and a very stylish and discreet framing of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and impressively light on its feet, with excellent nascent complexity, fine focus and grip, moderate tannins and very fine length on the well-balanced finish. This carries its 14.5 percent very well indeed and shows no signs of heat, but will need a few years in the cellar to let the tannins soften up a bit and the secondary layers of complexity to start to emerge. It is one of the most sophisticated bottles of Ribera del Duero I have tasted in a long time outside of the purview of Goyo Garcia! 2021-2050+.
93 Wine Enthusiast Lusty black-fruit aromas are earthy, oaky and smooth, exemplifying an excellent Ribera del Duero. A palate with pulsing acidity tempers rich flavors of blackberry, chocolate and vanilla. Creamy oak and some fire on the finish guarantee that this will evolve nicely through 2028. - Editor's Choice
April 2018
93 JamesSuckling.com This is an attractive wine that delivers plenty on the nose and palate with ripe blueberry and darker cherry and plum fruit. Tannins have lustrous appeal and light up the finish. Drink now.
August 2018
92 Vinous Media (raised in new and used French and American oak barrels for 20 months) Opaque ruby. Vibrant red and dark berry and floral scents, along with suggestions of licorice, vanilla and pipe tobacco. Sweet and sharply focused on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry and cherry liqueur flavors sharpened by a vein of zesty minerality. Densely packed yet lithe, delivering solid closing thrust; smooth tannins lend shape and gentle grip. I like the vivacity of this wine.
92 The Wine Advocate The 2014 Astrales is pure Tempranillo from different, younger and older Tempranillo vineyards, and matured in French and American oak barrels for 18 months. It has a sweet, fruit-driven nose with judicious oak that shows the hand of a winemaker. The palate is sleek and polished, also quite nicely crafted. 58,000 bottles. 2017 - 2022
91 Wine Spectator A fleshy texture carries ripe flavors of plum, blackberry, cola and toast in this modern-style red. The well-integrated tannins and lively acidity give way to a clean, spicy finish. Drink now through 2024.
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Astrales 2015
94 (JS) 93 (VfC) 92 (RP) 91 (WE) 91 (WS)
Score Publication Review Copy
94 JamesSuckling.com Impressive, ripe dark plums and blackberries with nicely integrated oak-spice. The palate has smoothly delivered tannins and a very seamless, convincing build on the finish. Blueberry flavors abound. Drink or hold.
August 2018
93 View from the Cellar The 2015 Astrales Tinto is pretty ripe, coming in at 14.5 percent octane, but offers up fine purity in its bouquet of red plums, red and black cherries, cocoa powder, a good base of soil and smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, nascently complex and very well-balanced, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, seamless tannins and lovely focus and grip on the poised and classy finish. Despite its 14.5 percent alcohol, this wine is cool in the mouth and beautifully balanced. I would give it four or five years in the cellar to allow some of its secondary layers of complexity to emerge. 2022-2050.
Issue #75 – May/June 2018
92 The Wine Advocate The harmonious 2015 Astrales manages to keep the poise in a warmer year, within the profile of the zone and house style, which is generously oaked and powerful but in search of elegance and balance. 70,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2017.
August 2018 - Issue 238
91 Wine Enthusiast Roasted blackened aromas of berry fruits and black currant are a touch rough and could use more time to settle. A crisp snappy palate is intense, angular and showing grainy hard tannins. Spicy woody flavors of clove and campfire are intermixed with plum and berry fruit, while this feels lively, acidic and a bit fiery on the finish. Drink through 2030.
Cellar Selection; November 2018
91 Wine Spectator Plum and blackberry flavors mingle with loamy earth, licorice and smoky notes in this solid red. Muscular tannins are well-integrated, showing enough acidity for balance. Drink now through 2030.
September 30, 2018 Issue
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Astrales 2020
92+ (VfC)
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92+ View from the Cellar The 2020 Astrales Tinto is a big boy, coming in at a full fifteen percent octane in this warm summer. The wine is fermented and goes through malo in stainless steel and is then aged in cask for eighteen months, with eighty percent of the barrels made from French wood and twenty percent American. One-third of the casks are new. The wine offers up a fine and complex nose of black plums, black cherries, Cuban cigar wrapper, a touch of dark chocolate, a lovely base of soil, smoky new oak and a gentle topnote of tempranillo spice tones. On the palate the wine is deep, ripe, full- bodied and very well-balanced for its octane level, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil signature and grip, chewy, buried tannins, fine focus and a long, complex and very promising finish. There is only a slight wisp of backend heat here, which is pretty impressive for a full fifteen percent. I would have loved to have seen it a half point or so lower in alcohol, but such was the summer of 2020. This will still be a fine, fine bottle once it has softened up its considerable tannins, but that is going to take some time. 2035-2075.
John Gilman; Issue 109, January – February 2024
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