Today, we’re excited to present a selection of wines from two exceptional winemakers, Goyo Garcia Viadero and Alfredo Maestro, whose meticulous work brings to life vivid expressions of Ribera del Duero. Over the past 20-odd years, these two have championed low-intervention winemaking in the region, reimagining a land spoiled with old vines and high altitudes. Beyond being standouts for their approaches to farming, these two make serious wines that are an incredible value for price, and just in time for the fall…

Working entirely without chemicals in the vineyard and practicing a remarkably patient approach in the cellar, Goyo produces wines with an energy, liveliness, and sincerity that has been hard to come by in the Ribera del Duero ever since the region achieved D.O status in the early ‘80’s. He co-ferments red and white grapes from centenarian vineyards, giving the wines lift, dimension, and transparency. Fermentations are gentle, and elevage can get quite long, resulting in wines that are structured, but not heavy; expressive, but never forced. The three single-vineyard wines on offer today—Finca El Peruco, Vinas de Arcilla, and Finca Valdeolmos—are from old, co-planted parcels that give a glimpse of what the land was like before the days of bulk wines focusing solely on Tempranillo. Similarly, the skin-contact white wines hail from century old vines that yield a chiseled concentration. For terroir that already has so much to say on its own, the wines owe their elegance to Goyo’s attentive, careful approach to winemaking; it's no wonder these wines have developed such a cult following over the years.

Alfredo Maestro, like Goyo, has helped carve out a new identity for the region, but through his own distinct path. Though he has always farmed organically, 2003 marked a turning point: the moment he stopped using any additives in his winemaking. What followed was a transformation in the kind of wines he chose to make. Alfredo’s wines are alive with fruit, freshness, and high-altitude feel that is characteristic of the region (I should mention, El Marciano, on offer today, comes from fruit sourced from old, high altitude vines in the Sierra de Gredos). While they may be a far cry from the heavily oaked, extracted wines that dominate the Ribera mainstream, they aren’t exactly glou-glou wines either. The rosé is structured, and the reds are not without power; a colleague of ours recently mentioned being impressed with how well a ten-year-old bottle of Alfredo’s Castrillo de Duero had shown. There’s a directness to his approach that effectively translates the qualities of the heat and high altitude that make this landscape so special in the first place.