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In Conversation With… Viña Pedrosa
In Conversation with Nuria Peña Albillo of Viña Pedrosa
In 1980, the three Pérez Pascuas brothers Benjamín, Manuel and Adolfo, decided to embark on an ambitious project. to make one of the best wines in Spain. Two years later they formed part of the small group of wineries that founded the D.O. Ribera del Duero. The brothers were fortunate to already have 60-year-old Tempranillo vines that had been planted by their father Mauro Pérez.
Today the third generation of Pérez Pascuas brothers are involved in this well-established family business, joined by highly lauded oenologist Nuria Peña Albillo.
The winery is situated on top of the hill just outside the village of Pedrosa del Duero, with panoramic views over the surrounding vineyards and countryside. This position at altitude is responsible for their overall micro-climate being cooler, with a considerable diurnal temperature differential. This makes for a lengthier growing season with the grapes hanging longer on the vine for slow ripening, meaning their harvest is often completed weeks after surrounding, lower lying vineyards.
What was your personal journey into wine?
From 1999 onwards, I built my career as a winemaker, consultant, technical and quality director in wineries across many Spanish winemaking regions, including DO Toro, DO León, DO Lanzarote, DO Ribera del Duero, DO Cigales, DO Rueda, and other regions in Castille & Leon.
I have also combined this with teaching Oenology at universities, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, which gives me the chance to share my knowledge. In the summer of 2019, I began working at Viña Pedrosa as technical director which presented an exciting challenge in my professional career – not least due to the sudden impact of Covid!
How would you describe your individual winemaking approach?
To me, a wine should pay respect to its provenance, all the way through from the vineyards to the terroir. The wines of Vina Pedrosa are truly reflective of a uniquely Ribera del Duero character – most of the work is done in the vineyard.
Ribera del Duero is one of the top-quality wine regions in Spain. What makes your corner of the region different from that of your neighbours and how does this impact the wine?
Our region has a strong Mediterranean climate influence, with some cooler Atlantic and Continental breezes. The dry summers and long, tough winters create a large diurnal range throughout the seasons which is the perfect ripening ecosystem for our grapes. Our vineyards are in Pedrosa de Duero (Burgos) with an average altitude of 850 metres above sea level, working only with indigenous varieties Tinto Fino, or Tempranillo.
We believe that the distinct Viña Pedrosa personality comes through in our wines; all the grapes used for our wines are produced on vineyards from our estate, all from bush-vines that are sustainably farmed. This produces us wines with a harmonious balance of altitude, soils, climate, and the age of the vines, producing concentration and purity.
Can you tell us more about the decision to convert to organic viticulture?
At Viña Pedrosa, we have always focused on implementing traditional, sustainable, and respectful viticulture with the goal of achieving full organic status. We do not use herbicides or any other synthetic chemicals and have applied cover crops and increased biodiversity in the vineyard, improving soil health, and achieving a much more balanced environment.
How are you influencing the style of the wines and what are some of the decisions you are making?
Our wines have a strong, well-defined character, yet we like to think they are constantly evolving and have immense ageability. Our aim has always been to produce organic, vegan-friendly wines with very low sulphite levels that do not lose the essence of where they have come from.
In your time as a winemaker, have you seen a change in consumer tastes?
Having worked as a winemaker across different winegrowing regions over the last two decades, I have certainly noticed a change in consumer palates. Luckily, when it comes to wines from Ribera del Duero, this change has not been as pronounced compared to other regions or with other grape varieties. The wines of Viña Pedrosa have maintained a classical Ribera del Duero profile, with the utmost care and attention to detail.
Do you have any exciting new projects coming up that you can share with us?
It is important to take on new challenges to help maintain our ability to adapt to our changing environment. Besides achieving organic certification for our viticulture and oenology, we are vinifying by parcels of land, looking specifically at the different soil types (sandy, chalky, clay, etc), the age of the vines, the different clones of the Tempranillo variety and the influence of the cover crops. We are three years into this process now and everything is starting to come into fruition in this fourth year.
How is the new vintage shaping up?
It has been a complicated vintage. The 2022 vintage has been extremely hot and dry, with low yields and with some imbalances between sugar and acidity; however, on the other hand it has been an otherwise very healthy year which points to a promising and high-quality vintage.
When you are not drinking your own wines, what else do you enjoy?
like trying different wines and enjoy the diversity of Spanish wines. Personally, one region stands out for its originality, namely the wines of Jerez. There is nothing better than a refreshing glass of Fino after a hard day’s work in the winery!