Pago de Carraovejas, Ribera del Duero

Ribera del Duero is a singular place, a region where conventional wisdom would say that viticulture is impossible. The rainfall each year wouldn’t be enough for unirrigated vines were it not for the sandy topsoils that allow water to pass through and be stored in more alluvial sedimentation down below. In this dry and arid region, soaring daytime temperatures come crashing down as soon as the sun sets, preserving the precious acidity of the local Tempranillo clone, Tinta del País.  Located in Peñafiel, the historic heart of the Ribera del Duero DO, Pago de Carraovejas was founded in 1987 by a group of wine-lovers from nearby Segovia. It is, like many estates in this high-desert environment, a dramatic landscape, with a vast tract of vineyards that climbs in spots to 900 meters of elevation. Today, they have 160 hectares of grapevines in production, with a stunning modern winery perched amid the plots. Many of the vineyards at Pago de Carraovejas occupy steep, narrow terraces in soils r