Ribera del Duero Report 2025: Meet the five charismatic mavericks producing the region's emerging classics

Not subscribed? Sign up today with the code RIBERA25 for 20% off an annual subscription Unfair as it is to name so few, these producers featured prominently on the top lines of our score tables. Common to all of them is a deep curiosity, each from different points of view, for what makes Ribera del Duero what it is – not merely as a wine region but as a landscape and community. [subscriber-content] Cruz de Alba Join Sergio Ávila, Cruz de Alba’s head winemaker (pictured above), on a tour across Cruz de Alba’s vineyards and he’ll have you spotting foxes, deers, hawks, nests and dens. He’ll also make you taste vine shoots, from different plots, as evidence of the way soil profile directly impacts on the sap that flows inside each plant and the way all tissues grow (and taste). It’s a fascinating, eye-opening experience led by a biodynamic pioneer whose wines defy categorisation and showcase a trademark earthy appeal. Not everyone will like them, but no one can stay indifferent. Beyond the character of the wines, the impact of Cruz de Alba’s project in Ribera is showing that a different kind of vineyard management is possible – perhaps essential to the preservation of a balanced, resilient landscape. There’s a lot to learn from Ávila’s gentle unorthodoxy. Francisco Barona [caption id="attachment_565245" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Francisco Barona working in his winery[/caption] It’s hard not to be seduced by the robust elegance of Barona’s wines. Behind them is a winemaker with equal amounts of talent and charisma. His energy, work ethics and childlike curiosity are remarkable – as is his self-criticism. As the most ruthless critic of his own work and wines, Barona only releases his wines at their best. Working form select plots of old vines, many of which he has painstakingly recovered from total abandonment himself, preserving precious plant material, means quantities are very small. Barona is Ribera del Duero at its best: true to itself, muscular yet lifted; ageworthy but supremely drinkable. Fight for your allocation if you can. (During a visit to Barona’s winery we tasted exciting barrel samples of upcoming vintages and of unreleased white wines . The former confirmed that upcoming releases will be as outstanding as the current ones; the latter are among the most exciting whites we’ve tasted this year. Do it Francisco!) Magna Vides [caption id="attachment_565221" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Andrea Sanz and Pablo Arranz, the husband-and-wife team behind Magna Vides[/caption] Pablo Arranz and Andrea Sanz are two of the most prominent names of a wave of Ribera del Duero producers changing (or refocusing) the region’s identity by recovering old vines and preserving its precious genetic material. With Arranz in charge of viticulture and Sanz responsible for winemaking, the husband-and-wife team started with a handful of old vineyards inherited from Arranz’s family and has since expanded to a total 20ha. Seeing as they do everything themselves they say that they’re now at capacity. Work in the cellar is light-handed but very precise, producing wines that straddle the ‘natural’ border without ever losing focus and technical exactness. Above all, there’s a deep understanding of the Ribera landscape and of its traditions, backed by research and personal implication. Magna Vides is their life project. Valdemonjas [caption id="attachment_565222" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Alexis and Alejandro Moyano of Valdemonjas[/caption] With great consistency and coherence, both technical and aesthetic, Valdemonjas has built an intriguing range of unpretentiously sophisticated wines, in which texture and purity of fruit take centre stage. The project is helmed by two generations – father and son, Alejandro and Alexis Moyano – straddling tradition and (sophisticated) innovation with ease. Moyano Sr worked as managing director at Abadía Retuerta between 1992 and 1997, overseeing the property’s reinstatement of its winemaking operations. After taking on other technical roles at Retuerta’s parent company, he decided it was time to found his own wine project. He brought with him a wealth of technical and operational knowledge, balanced by a soft confidence and listening ability. Both of which his son has inherited and are translated into Valdemonja’s wines. Their small, expertly designed, energy-passive winery – perched over Ribera del Duro’s golden mile and surrounded by a beautiful garden of indigenous herbs and flowers – is a physical expression of their philosophy. The Moyanos have two leading, like-minded consultants working alongside them; the renowned researcher Jesús Yuste steers viticultural operations, while Italian oenologist Luca D'Attoma advises in the cellar. Vizcarra [caption id="attachment_565243" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Celia and Juan Carlos Vizcarra Ramos | Courtesy of Vizcarra[/caption] The wines of Vizcarra delivered a strong performance across categories, with a matter of fact, relaxed complexity; serious without compromising on drinking pleasure. The winery is synonymous with Juan Carlos Vizcarra Ramos, who, as second generation at its helm, built on his father’s efforts with a maverick slant. Vizcarra Ramos studied in Rioja before returning to the family winery in 1991. He quickly started experimenting and questioning what the wines of Ribera should be. His was the first carbonic maceration wine released with the DO Ribera del Duero stamp, for example. He went on to build a gravity-fed winery, where he works gently and precisely. With his eldest daughter Celia now working alongside him, the continuity and evolution of this project is worth keeping an eye on. [/subscriber-content] Ribera del Duero Report 2025: Wines from five stand-out producers Wines grouped by producer, in alphabetical order. [wine-collection] Related articles Our experts' favourite new wines redefining this premium Spanish region Why the region's white varieties are a secret weapon waiting to be unleashed Ribera del Duero adopts the new old ways

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Ribera del Duero Report 2025: Meet the five charismatic mavericks producing the region’s emerging classics

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Ribera del Duero Report 2025: Wines from five stand-out producers

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