Mauro was my introduction to the Tudela de Duero region (thanks to Paul Debraccio who is shown on the right in both of these pictures in the striped shirt -- laughing and showing good table manners, respectively). Mauro is not produced within the Ribera del Duero (Tudela is not a sub-region). No matter, the wine is great...
90% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and Albillo. A mix of French and American oak is typically used (about 70/30) in this high-end bottling -- and the complexity shows in the final product. Mauro was created in the 1970's by Luciano Suarez, an architect who specialised in the restoration of medieval monuments, and Felix Choque, cousin of Mariano Garcia, the former winemaker at Vega Sicilia. Deep black cherry, spice, dark chocolate -- it's a black fruit wine made from 90% Tempranillo (a rarity).
$90; 88 points
Bottom Line: Overpriced and overdone to the point of being dense -- but it's probably too young (I still have a lot to learn about ultra-premium Spanish wines in their early years -- typically their first 8-10 yrs...).
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