Bodegas Antidoto Ribera del Duero 2022

A combination of Chinon and Spain

Bertrand Sourdais grew up among the vines in Chinon, but first made a name for himself as a winemaker in Spain. He now combines the best of both worlds with a winery in Chinon (Domaine de Pallus) and two in Ribera del Duero (Antídoto and Dominio de Es).

Sourdais is not a man of the beaten track. He makes his wines in Ribera del Duero in Soria, the most remote and difficult province of the region, wedged between two mountain ranges. The weather conditions are quite extreme, with the risk of hail and spring frost. The plots with old vines are spread out and at high altitudes. Not a wine region for large production, but all the more for wines with character.

Bertrand harvests the tinto fino (the local name for the tempranillo grape) for this Antídoto mainly in Soto de San Esteban, in no fewer than 550 different plots located at an altitude of around 950 metres. The vines are between thirty and one hundred years old and are planted on sandy-gravel soils, which gives the wine aroma and supple tannins.

After the manual harvest, the fermentation and maturation of eight months in French oak barrels, of which 15% are new, follows. It gives an intense, characterful and elegant Ribera del Duero, which is smooth and fresh enough to drink as is, but certainly also full and powerful enough for the table.