I'm including Cabernet buyers on this offer... no, it isn't Cab, but it has a similar weight and heft to the wine... all for about 1/2 of what a Cab of this quality would cost... 

Dominio del Aguila Picaro 2019

Sale $31.99 - Beats Best US Price Online
Buy 3 or more - $29.99

94+ pts Wine Advocate

Compare with:

• Pingus Amelia 2018 - 94+ pts at $350
• Villacreces Nebro 2016 - 93 ps at $200
• Alion 2017 - 94 pts at $122

One of the newest estates in Ribera del Duero, Dominio del Águila, was founded by Jorge Monzón and Isabel Rodero in 2010. Located in the village of La Aguilera, Jorge farms 30 hectares of vines organically with ongoing experiments with biodynamics. Like his neighbors, he relies primarily on the Tempranillo grape for his wines. Beyond that, all other similarities end.

At Dominio del Águila there is no Cabernet Sauvignon, no Merlot and certainly no Malbec or Petit Verdot, instead Jorge relies on Bobal, Garnacha, Tempranillo Gris and Albillo to add complexity to his wines. The vineyards are all over fifty years in age, and located on sandy and rocky clay soils.

Jorge comes from a family with a long tradition of growing grapes and making wines. He has studied in Bordeaux and Burgundy and has worked at both Domaine Romanée-Conti at Vega Sicilia. His studies and travels taught him several important things: the importance of organic farming, an appreciation of old-vines, a desire for elegance and transparency and all the skills necessary to combine these ideas to make remarkable wines.

Jorge and his wife Isabel, who is an architect, have renovated an ancient cellar in the village of La Aguilera dating to the 15th century. They installed concrete tanks for fermentation and placed a barrel room in the coldest part of the subterranean cellar.   Natural yeast co-fermentations are the first step in the process with pigeage done by foot. After primary fermentation the wines are placed in French oak for malo and aging. With such cold temperatures in the barrel room, the evolution of the aging wines proceeds  slowly, allowing for the development of greater complexity and nuance.

This gem is just flat-out fun! I know, “fun” isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind when discussing the typically full-throttle wines of Ribera. It’s just that this baby is so vibrant, so alive, constantly changing and morphing through a kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors… well, it’s fun! Yet serious for sure. It’s remarkable what can be accomplished when you take the foot off the wine-making pedal a bit. 

"The youngest of the reds I tasted, the 2019 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is their most approachable red and is still serious, vibrant and aromatic with great length and still has good aging potential. They use the grapes from the warmest vineyards they have in the village of La Aguilera, form the northern part closer to La Horra, mostly Tempranillo but with some 5% of other varieties (red and white) interplanted in the old vineyards, fermented together with full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for 15 months. Like the 2019 Clarete, this is young and tender and has more tension than I expected for a warmer year. It has less oak than previous years (only 10% or 15% new barrels), and the wine feels better balanced and is floral and aromatic. It's medium-bodied with a very fine texture, a pretty wine that drinks very well and doesn't reflect a warm year at all, as it has incredible freshness. A great Pícaro." WA

Or reply. Arrives Thursday in Chapel Hill. Friday in Hillsborough.