The Abadia Retuerta Pago la Garduna comes from a single vineyard and is exclusively produced with Syrah grapes. The Pago la Garduña comes from limestone soils sheltered by pine trees on an 810 meter high vineyard. The yields are always low, around 20 hectoliters per hectare and from the 2013 only 2500 bottles were made. The wine has been educated for 18 months in new French oak.

The Garuna is a Pago wine which means that this comes from a registered unique domain. The wine has a deep intense dark color. The wine is very fine, elegant and delicate in the nose with notes of raspberry, cherry, tym, lavender, balsamic vinegar, tobacco and red currant mixed with Mediterranean herbs such as tym and lavender with raspberry, tobacco and beautiful somewhat bitter tannins. The wine is medium to full-bodied with a good balance and acidity that adds freshness. The Garuna is a complex sturdy glass of wine in a very limited edition with a nice long finish. The wine is ready to be drunk but will be able to develop further in the coming years. This is one of the 4 Pago wines from Abadia Retuerta (Negralada, Petit Verdot, Valdebellon and Garduna) where only a few thousand bottles are always produced (because these are small and very special vineyards) and the wine is issued worldwide on allocation of which only a very limited number of bottles for the Netherlands. According to Parker, this is the most beautiful year of the Garuna.

94/100 Parker

The "Pago" status is what the Grand Cru among Spanish wines means and is the highest status that a wine company in Spain can achieve. A wine may be a Pago-we if the wines can be guaranteed that the grapes come from a geographical zone whose specific soil characteristics are recognizable. In other words; in certain zones there is a special microclimate that, in combination with the composition of the soil, produces a grape which, despite being a well-known grape variety, cannot be compared in taste with that of its peers. There are only a handful of wines in Spain that have this ultimate status.

Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine, that's the name of the winery, is a winery located at the gates of the Ribeira del Duero. The estate not only produces exclusive wines, but is in itself an architectural gem, an old 12th-century abbey with a luxurious 5-star hotel and a star restaurant. This historic abbey is owned by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and was restored in 2008 under the leadership of the Italian architect Marco Serra. It is located in Sardón de Duero, right on the western border of the Ribeira del Duero. A number of the vineyards are therefore outside this appellation and moreover they are experimenting at Abadía Retuerta with grape varieties such as gewürztraminer, riesling, cabernet sauvignon and syrah that are not allowed in Ribeira del Duero. The wines are currently being marketed under the basic appellation Vino de la Tierra Castilla Y León. However, an application for own appellation has been submitted. The domain focuses mainly on the production of high-end red wines, but has recently also launched a white wine. This wine is a peculiar but very successful blend of sauvignon blanc, verdejo, godello, riesling and gewürztraminer.

Le Domaine, because that is the name of this white wine, has enjoyed a subtle maturation of wood and has rested for 6 months on the groin. The result is a slightly aromatic wine that is particularly flexible on the palate and is accompanied by a beautiful fraicheeur and ditto length. In addition, Abadía Retuerta produces 5 red wines of which one blend and four red single vineyard monocepages, respectively: Seleccion Especial (tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and syrah), Pago Negralada (tempranillo), Pago Garduña (syrah), Pago Valdebellón (cabernet sauvignon) and PV (petit verdot).

The fact that we are talking about a top winery here is also apparent that Pascal Delbeck of Château Ausone has been recruited and is a member of the management and consults Abadia Retuerta. Angel Anocibar Beloqui, who is the first Spanish Doctor of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux, has been voted Best Winemaker in 2005 by Angel Anocibar Beloqui. Another very noteworthy fact is that Abadia Retuerta has a great hotel and restaurant on the property and the restaurant has recently received a Michelin star. Read more under the heading winery.