Tábula – Boutique winemaking in the Ribera del Duero

By Rob Pickard

On a recent trip to the Ribera del Duero, I was lucky enough to visit Bodegas Tábula, a fascinating boutique producer situated within just over 26 hectares of rich limestone soil in the Olivares del Duero. Having visited this region in the past, I was once again amazed by the wine produced here. The Ribera del Duero captures that rustic, earthy characteristics that really symbolises Spanish red wine but also has winemakers who are prepared to experiment with other varietals and winemaking methods, creating an exciting region for red wine, where the majority of prices are not as high as other regions of this quality in Europe.

Tábula really is testament to what this region is all about. The team here has an obvious passion for producing wines of great character, promoting the terroir of the Duero, with deep rich Tempranillo-based wines, but likewise embracing modern winemaking techniques and varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon. However, what sets Tábula apart from many other producers within the area is the small scale, hands on production.  This is not totally unique within the area, but what Tábula does so well is to create consistently high quality wines across their range: the Damana 5, retailing at £10, receives the same care and attention as their top cuvee, the Gran Tábula.

When I visited the winery recently, the harvest was just coming to the end as the small team finished the last of the picking; all carried out by hand.  The team here consists of just seven people, with an extra 10 around harvest time, small by any account.  Being so small, Tábula are able to do things slightly differently to their neighbours.  Armando Garcia, Sales manager for Tábula said that other producers in the region had already finished the harvest by this point. However, Tábula take a more detailed, involved approach in the vineyard, allowing them to spend more time with the grapes before deciding when to pick. The 200,000 kg picked this vintage took around 25 – 30 days to bring in.   Following handpicking, the process continues with a rigorous sorting of the grapes, which is repeated several times to ensure only the best berries make it through to their 150,000 bottles.

This attention to detail within production was further seen in the team’s vinification and ageing choices within the winery. At Tábula all the cuvees spend exactly the same length of time in the bottle before release, as they have spent in oak, allowing the wines the time to mellow and evolve. For example the Gran Tábula spends on average 16 – 18 months in barrel and then the same in bottle before release.

A meticulous approach is also taken to the selection of oak for the cuvees. The team use only French oak, and each cuvee has a carefully picked age of oak to impart the characteristics the team are looking for. Gran Tábula in aged in 100% new French oak, Tábula Crianza in 50% new oak and 50% 1 vintage old oak, while the Tábula Damana 5, an early drinking style, is aged in oak that has already been used for 2 vintages.

Damana 5 -

The cheapest of the Tábula wines, Damana 5 represents outstanding quality for the price.  The grapes are sourced from vines around 8 – 10 years old in a 22 hectare site, producing around 100,000 bottles.  Like Tábula’s other wines, all Damana 5 grapes are handpicked, and aged in French oak for 5 months, and 5 months in bottle, hence the name.

For most vintages the blend for Damana 5 consists of around 96% Tempranillo and 4 % Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine has a rich, lush berry fruit flavour, with an elegant finish, punching well above its weight in this price range.

Gran Tábula -

The Gran Tábula cuvee is the stand out cuvee from the Bodega, and one of the best wines of the region, even with stiff competition from such properties as Pingus and Vega Sicilia.  The grapes for this wine come from a small 4 hectare plot of old vines, with many up to 100 years old.  Production of Gran Tábula is very small with only 3000 – 4000 bottles produced every year.  And with a growing fan base in the Far East and America the production of Gran Tábula does not go far!

Gran Tábula is 100% Tempranillo, however in some vintages this changes slightly as they meet the required structure and characteristics with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is aged for 16 – 18 months in new French oak, and the same period in bottle before release.  This is a stunning wine, and over the next decade I expect it will be recognised alongside its more prestigious neighbours. Unfortunately though for us, there will probably be a price increase to match!

Check out the video below of Tábula’s Sales Manager Armando Garcia talking about the making of Gran Tábula.

Check out the rest of the photos from our visit to Bodega Tábula on our In Pictures page of Bibendum Times or on the Bibendum Facebook page.

Tags: Armando Garcia, Bodegas Tabula, Damana 5, Gran Tabula, Ribera del Duero, Tabula

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Bibendum Blog, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.