Castile: the Duero from mountain to sea
Almost 900 kilometres from the Picos de Urbión to Porto. On the river's middle course, between 600 and 1,000 metres altitude, some of Spain's best-known designations are concentrated.
One river, seven territories
The Duero rises in the Picos de Urbión (Soria), above 2,000 metres, and reaches Porto after almost 900 kilometres. Castile's wine areas lie on its middle course, between 600 and 850 metres —although the vine reaches 1,000 in parts of the Ribera. Continentality can be extreme: summer drought affects 90% of the basin.
Behind this single river hide seven very different identities: the Tierra de León, where Prieto Picudo rules; the Valles de Benavente (Zamora), where Prieto Picudo lives alongside Tempranillo; Arribes, with its own varietal universe, closer to Portugal than to Spain; Toro, dominated by Tinta de Toro with very old vines, some pre-phylloxera, of Doña Blanca; Rueda, almost all Verdejo; Ribera del Duero, where Tinta Fina reigns; and Arlanza, Cigales and Valtiendas, with the same varietal selection but different soils.
Reconquest vines
Today's Duero vineyards are the heirs of the Reconquest and the resettling of territories abandoned or destroyed by war. Toro was medieval Spain's first commercial vineyard with recorded sales towards the Cantabrian coast —its wines already appear in the Libro del Buen Amor by the Archpriest of Hita (14th century) and, later, they would travel as far as America.
Why we're not there yet
Castile isn't part of the Terroir Radical catalogue yet, but the variety of terroirs under a single river —from Toro's pre-phylloxera vines to the Atlantic character of Arribes— makes it a region we follow with interest.
From its source in the Picos de Urbión to its mouth in Porto.
Toro, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Cigales, Arribes, Tierra de León and Arlanza.
Century-old plots of Doña Blanca in Toro, among other treasures.
A territory in exploration
We don't have wines from Castile in the catalogue yet, but it's a region we follow closely. Meanwhile, discover the rest of our map.
See the whole territory See the current producers