With 13% alcohol, costing just $12 back then, the 32-year-old 1989 Pesquera from Ribera Del Duero in Northern Spain scored 18 points on the Dionysian scale of 20.

Silky smooth, the wine was still garnet holding its color well. It had all the traditional herbs and spices from the tempranillo grape and strong cherry pit aromas. They’re in the $45 range now.

I spent a day with the owner-wine-maker Alejandro Fernadez some years back. He sadly passed away this year. He built the winery himself and planted the best clones for his vineyard. He alone made the Ribera region famous!

We had it with roasted goat, as Alendro served me. Each sip grew deeper in flavor.
Old wines add more than another level of complexity.

The bottles are all numbered and it’s made to mature for two decades at least. I opened the same wine recently to share with Dionysian Greg Mills and his wife. Cellar some wine and share them in the future. In Vino Veritas.