Aalto Ribera del Duero 2020

94 pts Wine AdvocateThe nose of the red 2020 Aalto comes blasting with tons of toasted oak, spice, smoke and more toast, ripe berries and a luxurious creaminess like the finest modern wines from the turn of the century. This is predictable but exactly what their customers are looking for, with ripe berries, generous oak and a velvety palate with volume, soft tannins and mellow acidity. It matured in French and American oak barrels for 18 months. Some things never change. 330,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2022. Vintage 2020The farming year began with a very rainy autumn and mild temperatures. Winter started with fogs, a drastic decrease of temperatures, and ended up with little precipitation and moderate temperatures. Spring started with low temperatures due to a cold front that delayed the sprouting of the vines until late April. The rest of the season developed with unstable weather conditions and storms. High temperatures continued in July and the first fortnight of August, des