Before my trip to Spain, I had not had the wines of Francisco Barona. I feel a little cheated. I feel kinda stupid. To be honest, the wines from Ribera have just not been in my wheelhouse, chalk that up to my ignorance. I have had the big names--Vega Sicilia, Pingus, Pesquera, but Barona was off my radar. Not any longer. The wines are off the charts good, and affordable, compared to their peers.
Francisco was born into a family of grape growers, He studied enology in Bordeaux and worked at some of the world's most prestigious estates, including Château Angélus and Château Malescot St-Exupéry, before returning home to Ribera del Duero.
In 2010, at just 25 years old, he took out a bank loan to purchase five extraordinary parcels of ancient vines across three villages. These vineyards, some planted more than a century ago, had previously supplied grapes to Vega Sicilia. His first vintage, released in 2014, marked the beginning of what I think is now one of Ribera del Duero's most exciting estates.
Today, Francisco farms a remarkable collection of old, dry-farmed, bush-trained vineyards, many planted between 1908 and 1948. Rather than replanting these ancient, low-yielding parcels with modern Tempranillo clones (a sad practice that has happened all too often in this region when producer favor yields over quality), he preserves their traditional field blends of Tinto Fino, Garnacha, Albillo, and other indigenous varieties.
His winemaking approach is equally traditional. Grapes are harvested by hand, fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, all gravity fed, and aged in French oak, all tucked deep underground in an ice cold cellar to rest, where Francisco quietly plays them classical music (seriously). The wines are bottled without fining or filtration, preserving the extraordinary concentration, complexity, and character of the terroir and wines.
These are powerful, deeply concentrated Ribera del Duero wines, but what makes them so compelling is their remarkable freshness, balance, and sense of place. Layers of dark cherry, blackberry, wild herbs, mineral notes, and finely integrated spice unfold across a beautifully structured palate, with ripe tannins and an exceptionally long finish.
When I was in his underground cellar, we tasted through 4 wines. 2023 and 2024 Ribera del Duero, and 2023 and 2024 Ribera del Duero "Finca Las Duenas". Every wine was magnificent. Of the straight Ribera, I preferred the 2024 for its sheer beauty, even though the 2023 was the #7 Wine of the Year, it felt like it had another dimension, an ethereal lift that wasn't present in the 2023. My notes: "Soft, creamy, raspberry cream nose, crushed flowers, fruit leather, gummy fruits, such an elegant palate. Fresh and delicate but powerful, with fine grained, tight tannins. What a beautiful wine. Almost reminds me of Sassicaia, but for 1/4 the price"
98 points, Jeb Dunnick: "A field blend of 11 parcels, mostly Tinto Fino with Garnacha and Albillo Mayor, the 2024 is fresh from the rains of the year, with more acidity than the previous vintage. Terroir and varietal-driven, it’s not masked by concentration, offering extreme elegance, a touch of spice, and pure red fruit, with approachable tannins and balanced acidity. The silkiness of the texture resonates, as do the floral, fruity aromatics of the Garnacha, structured to age a decade or more while revealing its finesse already. Drink 2028-2038"
At the lowest price in the US, this is a wine to buy a 6 pack of to drink now and hold to drink occasionally over the next decade+!
