What makes this wine unique?

Celia is a limited-production wine; less than 250 cases are made for the entire world! This special bottling is one of Juan Carlos’s flagship wines, produced only during the very best vintages. The best 3% of all the grapes grown on Juan Carlos’s 26 hectares (64 acres) go into the making of this wine. This wine combines power and elegance in the distinctive manner of the best Ribera del Duero wines.

Rating history:

Grape:

90% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha.

Pairing Suggestions:

This serious, structured red shows dense, complex aromas of wild herbs with red and black fruits. Super silky on the palate, this wine will reward patience. A decade of bottle aging or a minimum of two hours in a decanter before serving will help this wine show well. Next to the decanter, grilled rare or medium rare lamb chops are a perfect match, as well as grilled grass-fed beefsteak or pork tenderloin with rosemary.

Vinification and ageing:

After picking the best bunches from the vineyard’s best vines, the best berries are selected to make one of Juan Carlos Vizcarra’s smallest production wines. The tiny berries go into open-top barrels made of French oak for maceration and alcoholic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in large, 400-liter oak barrels, 95% French and 5% American. Celia is usually aged for 18 months. During this period, the wine is racked only once. The wine is bottled without any filtration or cold stabilization.

Production:

220 6-pack cases are made; 25 for the U.S.

Location, Soil, Climate:

Vineyards are located in the town of Mambrilla, at 849 meters (2,785 ft.) elevation. Lying within the northern central area of the Ribera del Duero DO (Zone 2), in Burgos province in Castilla y León. The vineyard’s topsoil is composed of clay and limestone and the subsoil is gravel. Relatively fertile, the soil has plenty of organic material with good water retention. To offset an undesirably high rate of vegetative growth, Juan Carlos reduces yields by thinning grape clusters from 20 to 8 per vine and by allowing other wild herbs to flourish around the vines. This foliage acts to absorb the potentially excessive water and nutrients from the soil. In reducing the vine’s yield and vigor, Juan Carlos maximizes the intensity and concentration of the grapes. The area’s climate has an average temperature from April-October of 60.5ºF and the average annual rainfall is 18.9 inches. From its higher altitude, Ribera del Duero’s northern central area within Burgos has a cooler climate than either Toro or Rueda, to the west and southwest, respectively. Here, the wines are usually darker, more concentrated and have more forward aromas than wines made in the western part of Ribera del Duero. An extreme Continental climate, with cool nights and hot days with moderately low rainfall, provides a longer ripening period, and results in wines with greater complexity and more expressive, intense aromas. The temperatures at Vizcarra’s vineyards are warmer than the neighboring bodega Torremorón and cooler than Hornillos Ballesteros-MiBal. Harvest usually begins the first week of October and ends by mid-month.

Tasting notes:

Celia Vizcarra shows off a complex perfume of balsam wood, pencil lead, leather, tobacco, incense, black cherry, and blueberry. Dense, layered, and muscular on the palate, all the ingredients are in place; all that is missing is a purchaser with patience. Celia requires a minimum of a decade of cellaring and will offer prime drinking from 2016 to 2030+. Notes by Jay Miller.

Alcohol Content:

14.5%

UPC Code:

8437008409641