Patriarch of the Pérez Pascuas family, Don Mauro, had plans to uproot old vineyards to plant cereal crops, but his three sons, Benjamin, Manuel and Adolfo, resisted this, so convinced were they of the potential of their old vineyard sites. Don Mauro began with 35 hectares and his three sons decided not to continue producing wine in the existing cooperative, so they founded their own bodega and their first vintage was released in 1980.

Today, Hermanos Pérez Pascuas has an ultra-modern winery, barrel cellar and visitor center, and owns over 110 hectares of prime vineyards; 90% are Tinta del Pais (the ancient Ribera clone of Tempranillo) and 10% are Cabernet Sauvignon, and the property exports wine to 30 countries across the globe. The whole line of Hermanos Pérez Pascuas wines has been remarkably consistent over the past decade, and their Gran Reserva is regularly mentioned among the finest wines available from Ribera. The property utilizes grapes from its own vineyards and from long-term, closely supervised contract growers.

Ribera’s climate is considered "continental" and dry, characterized by low rainfall (approx. 465 millimeters/year, temperatures from under -10°C in winter and up to 40°C in summer, high average sunshine of 2,300-2,400 hours/year and vineyard elevations about 700-800 meters in altitude. While these temperature extremes (high summer temp’s with short growing cycle) make vine cultivation difficult, this is actually an ideal climate for the Tinto del Pais and Tinto Fino grape variety found in Ribera del Duero and, similar to the ideal climatic conditions for the Cabernet Sauvignon grape found in California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys, these conditions help the long, slow ripening and phenolic development of optimally mature, perfectly ripe grape skins. It is only from optimally ripe skins that winemakers can obtain the aromatic depth and palate complexity necessary for fine wines. There are predominantly brown and limey soils, slightly alkaline, with clay, sand and gravel. With good drainage and low organic content, these soils are excellent for growing vines.

In philosophy, the property of Hermanos Pérez Pascuas seeks to make wines possessing both strength and elegance, serious wines with extract, volume and character. The wines available, from Viña Pedrosa Joven to Pérez Pascuas Gran Selección, cover a range for immediate or near-term drinking up to those meant for long-term aging. Half the property’s vines are over 25 years old, and this helps produce low yields of concentrated fruit. A rigorous selection in the vineyard precedes a careful sorting at the winery. The 2003 Viña Pedrosa is made from 100% Tinto del Pais grapes that is aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels before release. With the 2003 vintage, this wine becomes the entry-level wine from Hermanos Pérez Pascuas available in the U.S., previously it was called Cepa Gavilán.

The 2003 Viña Pedrosa has unmistakably Ribera aromas that are quite floral, of fresh herbs, crushed, ripe black cherries with a trace of mint. On the palate, the wine broadens out and becomes generously full with flavors of blackberry compote and tart, red cherries. The wine has fleshy fruit with delineated acidity and suave tannins that help create a very long finish. The short aging in oak helps the wine convey a ripe, fresh nature rather than one of heavy, overripe fruit or creamy vanillin or oak-stiffened alcohol. This is a great bottle to pair with steak frites, roast pork tenderloin with rosemary, pan-seared veal cutlets with sage or just about any grilled red meat.

–Chris

“For value, it is hard to beat the 2003 Viña Pedrosa, an exuberant, deep ruby/purple-tinged wine displaying loads of cedar wood, creme de cassis, licorice, and spice box characteristics. Fleshy and opulent, with crisp, zesty acidity, this young vine cuvee is a terrific effort to drink over the next 5-6 years.” —WA 90

“Bright ruby-red. Highly complex, inviting nose melds raw cherry, crushed raspberry, mocha, coffee and cedary oak. Then impressively rich and broad but not overly sweet in the mouth, with a silky texture and a flavor of kirsch. This has the mouth feel and weight of a big Burgundy. Finishes extremely long, with dusty, suave tannins. In previous vintages, this early release was labeled Cepa Gavilan.” —IWC 91