Quinta Sardonia

The estate sits in the middle of the Duero valley and the wine stays outside Ribera del Duero on purpose. In 1998 nine friends who wanted a wine of their own got together, with Peter Sisseck and Jérôme Bougnaud advising, and decided to plant a new vineyard beyond the appellation, in the historic area of Sardón de Duero. The winery started in 1999.

It stands at the Granja Sardón, one of the oldest estates in Spain, and in 2010 it was bought by Terras Gauda, the Fonseca family group, which also owns wineries in Rías Baixas, Bierzo and Rioja Oriental.

There are 22 hectares of estate vineyard in Villabáñez and Sardón de Duero, province of Valladolid, over eleven different limestone-based soils, on the south-facing slope of the Duero and between 760 and 830 metres.

The blend is 60% tinto fino, 27% cabernet sauvignon, 11% merlot and 2% malbec. Bunches are sorted from summer through to the cellar door, vatted with 5-15% whole clusters, fermented with native yeasts and aged twenty months. There were 24,900 bottles.