López Cristóbal

The stellar López Cristóbal estate is a relatively new face in Ribera Del Duero’s wine scene. It has already established a reputation for itself as a formidable producer of ripe, balanced, and stylish reds. Right from the outset, their mission statement has been to craft wines of real class and distinction that move away from the sometimes over-extracted and over-oaked styles once common in this area of northwest Spain. Indeed, the reds produced at Bodegas López Cristóbal have a wonderful elegance and purity not often found in Ribera’s powerful, sturdy wines, predominately made from the Tempranillo grape in the dramatic plains of Spain’s Castile de Leon region. They are the poster child for the emerging face of Ribera’s new wave wines – powerful, dense yet more balanced and supple than the output of the past.

López Cristóbal was officially founded in 1994, outside the traditional village of Roa Del Duero, by an agricultural engineer and passionate wine advocate, Santiago López. Before that date, in the 1980s, Lopez had planted some vineyards with the view of someday making wine rather than simply selling his grapes to other wineries. His wife Lola Cristóbal, who was from a longstanding family of wine growers, suggested joining forces, and so Lopez Cristóbal was born. Their combined vineyard holdings allowed the family to invest in a state of the art winery built on the site of the original family farm, started by Lopez’s grandfather. After much hard work, investment and perseverance, the family were now ready to pursue their dream of crafting top-class wines in the Ribera region.

Today, the family produces a range of superb reds, from the entry-level Roble to their prized super-cuvee Bagus. This 100% Tempranillo wine is a true blockbuster – an explosive nose of black fruit, chocolate, and spice are matched by an equally powerful and structured palate. But most importantly, there is always a particular emphasis on understanding the precise qualities of the different terroirs across their vineyard holdings, and Lopez Cristóbal source grapes from vineyards grown on three distinct soil types. This, combined with ruthless attention to detail, a meticulous sorting process in the winery, and their expertise, means that the wines of this superlative bodega rarely disappoint!