2020 Pesquera Reserva, Alejandro Fernandez

In 1972 Alejandro Fernandez started making wine in his home town of Pesquera on the banks of the Duero a few miles east of Valladolid. At that stage, he may not have been aware of it, but he was playing a big part in bringing the wines of this region, Ribera del Duero, to the notice of the world. Such was his success that, in 1982, Ribera del Duero was granted official DO (which has since been upgraded to DOCa) status by the Spanish wine authorities and a few years later, after being discovered by Robert Parker, his wines achieved something of a cult status in the USA.

Over intervening years they have continued to cement their reputation as a leading producer in the region and steadily expanded the scale of their operations which now encompass four wineries, one of which is the well regarded Condado de Haza. While Alejandro is still involved in the business the third generation of the Fernandez Rivera family, in the shape of Alejandro and Esperanza’s granddaughters, have taken over the reins and oversee all the group’s operations which these days include wine tourism alongside their viticultural activities.