ValSotillo wines are now in the wine list of the new restaurant that the Spanish chef José Andrés has recently open in Dubai. Jaleo Dubai is situated inside the luxury hotel Atlantis The Royal, in the exclusive residential area of Jumeirah Palm.

This is a new landmark in Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-Valsotillo history. Dubai is a new market we add to our exportation list. An interesting place because Dubai is now a popular expat destination in the world, thanks to its tax benefits, stable economy, strategic location, safety, technology and infraestructures.

ValSotillo wines will be served at Jaleo Dubai with Spanish food, such as tapas, paella, iberian jam, Spanish omelet and cheeses.

Jaleo Dubai was inaugurated last January and shares the atonishing and luxurious spaces of Atlantis The Royal Hotel  with other worldwide well-known cooks, like  Gordon Ramsay, Nobu, Milos or  Heston Blumenthal   Atlantis Dubai – Jaleo by José Andrés

Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-ValSotillo exports wines to Europe, United States,  Canadá, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, China, Korea…  Our main exportation markets are Germany and the USA.  We would like to remind that our wines have also been in Jaleo restaurant in Washington DC,  also owned by chef José Andrés.

Interesting facts about Tempranillo | WineTourism.com

ValSotillo wines are having a very good acceptance in the USA  market. Our customers love the authentic Ribera del Duero’s tipicity they show.

You can find ValSotillo wines in California, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington, where we have wine distributors, but we have also customers all over the USA.

Laurent, from  Princeton Corkscrew, one of our best clients in the USA, says: Today, ValSotillo continues to be a leading reference of quality as one of the top artisanal producers in the region. Ismael established ValSotillo in 1979, however, his family has been passing down the accumulated knowledge about their vineyards and cellars from generation to generation since the 16th century!

He also says that he was lucky enough to start working with Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-Valsotillo just over five years ago!

To know more about what are they telling about us, follow this link:    https://www.princetoncorkscrew.com/newsletters/2022/01/24/New-Vintage-of-an-Amazing-Spanish-Value-2018-ValSotillo-A-Founding-Father-of-Ribera-del-Duero-n2786543x1

Besides, our wine ValSotillo Finca Buenavista has got the following scores from different wine experts:

General plan of the historical wineries and “lagares” in Sotillo de la Ribera

 

Sotillo de la Ribera keeps an outstanding network of cellars to make wine which dates back to the XVI century. They are exceptional because of their saze, arquitecture and situation, says a local investigation .  Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-ValSotillo  has in heritage one where they age the wines and that is available for visitors.

There are now 99 “lagares” (Spanish word for the old wineries, where grapes where pressed by the feet), 86underground cellars and 130 zarceras (holes for ventilation), that has atracted investigators attention .

They date back to the XVI century. Old documents from the XVII century say that in the small town of Sotillo de la Ribera the  wine production in the lagares and underground cellars was over 3 million litres, a very important amount taht meant that it was a principal economic activity.

 

Inside ValSotillo’s underground cellar visitors can find 2 other documents, from 1902 and 1948 that talk about the quality of the wines made in Sotillo.

 

Wine diplomas of 1902 and 1948

Photo  from 100 years ago with the winweries in the background

 

Around a third part  of the underground cellars are used by groups of friends and families to meet inside and have dinners, fiestas or other celebrations.

Bodegas Ismael  Arroyo-ValSotillo is the only one winery in the  Denominación de Origen Ribera del Duero that owns a historical underground cellar to age thier wines.

Its almost half a km long, with beautiful hancarved galleries. The temperature inside is all the year the same, (11-12 degrees Celsius)  and  it is open for visitors all the year, from Monday to Saturday.  You can find more information about our wine tours in this website.  Besides,  Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-ValSotillo belongs to Ruta del Vino Ribera del Duero.

 

ValSotillo ages in this 16th century winery

 

 

 Bodegas Ismael Arroyo – ValSotillo wines

 

We have five top wines according to the best wine experts’ reviews.  Would you like to know a bit more about them?

We are very proud and grateful for  Tim Atkin  MW’s reviews.  He has included some of our wines in his  special report  Ribera del Duero 2020/21 Top 100. Besides, this year we’ve got reviews in the prestigious German magazine Falstaff and in three of  the most known Spanish wine guides:  Peñín,  Gourmets  and  Wine Up.

 

These are our first best marks:

• ValSotillo Gran Reserva 2014   

90 Tim Atkin

• ValSotillo VS 2016 “40 Aniversario”

95 Gourmets,   95 Tim Atkin,  94 Vivir el Vino,  93 Peñín

• ValSotillo VS Reserva 2016

94 Gourmets,  94 Tim Atkin, 90 Wine Up

• ValSotillo Reserva 2015

95 Gourmets,  90 Peñín,  92 Wine Up

• ValSotillo Crianza 2016  

92 Tim Atkin,  92 Falstaff,  89 Peñín,  90 Wine Up

• ValSotillo Finca Buenavista 2017  

91 Tim Atkin

And these are some of the reviews:

Tim Atkin:

95 ValSotillo VS 40th Anniversary 2016: “Not many wineries in Ribera del Duero have racked up 40 vintages and this is a very stylish tribute to founder Ismael Arroyo. Made with Tinto Fino from 100-year-old vines in Sotillo de la Ribera, it`s appealingly complex and balsamic with savoury, tobacco pouch notes, sculpted tannins and chalky acidity. Herbal, minty and long on the palate. 2021-2026”.

94 ValSotillo Reserva 2016: “Named after one of the pioneers of the Ribera del Duero Denominación de Origen, Ismael Arroyo makes impressive wines from its vineyards in high-altitude Sotillo de la Ribera. Aged in French and American oak, this is a focused, refreshing style showing stony minerality, blackberry pastille flavours, racy acidity and fine-boned tannins. 2021-28.

Falstaff Magazine:

92 ValSotillo Crianza 2016:  “Jammy blackberry  flavours, notes of orange peel, plums, tobacco, spices, notes of fine oak, sculpted tannins, minerality, good estructure and elegance”.

 

     Crianza ValSotillo 2016 review in Falstaff magazine

Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-ValSotillo, situated in Ribera del Duero Appellation of Origin, appeals to wine tourists from all around the world.

People from at least 32 different countries have visited this 400 years old winery, one of the pioneers in Ribera del Duero.

Most of our visitors come from the United States. But we have also reservations of winelovers from Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, China, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Dominincan Republic, Russia, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Panama, Argentina, Denmark, Philippines, Holland, Ecuador, Colombia, Romania, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, Korea, Peru, Taiwan and Brazil.

In total, we get around 2.000 foreign visitors per year. Most of them arrange an organized wine tour, others contact by mail directly with the winery and some have read about ValSotillo in books or reports, like the one that wrote Jada Jan in the New York Times, considering Bodegas Ismael Arroyo-ValSotillo as her favourite.

All our visitors love the opportunity of having a first-hand experience of wine history and tradition, explained by the owners of the winery, who are direct descendants of the first winemakers in Sotillo de la Ribera, in the XVI century.

The walk through the outstanding hand carved underground historical cellar, preserved as it was four centuries ago and the reading of old documents from the XVII, XVIII and beginning of the XX century, talking about the family ancestors and how they made wine are highly valued by visitors.

Harvest is an intense time in every winery.  Bodegas Ismael Arroyo ValSotillo is situated in Ribera del Duero where harvest takes place usually in the first two weeks of October.

Harvest is the end of a long year working in the vineyards.  September is the most important month because it is when grapes become ripe.

We start at the end of August selecting bunches to limit their number, because lower yields generally result in riper grapes with more concentrated flavours.

In September we check the color, level of sugar of the grapes in the vines, seeds… This analysis helps us to make a decision about when to start picking the grapes.

The grapes are hand-harvested. We sort bunches in the vines. When they arrive to the winery in cases they go to a hopper and a de-stemmer which separates the berries from the stems. These are ejected and berries are pumped directly to the stainless steel tanks. 

Alcoholic fermentation starts in 2 or 3 days in the tanks. We never add commercial yeasts. We start fermentation with the natural yeasts in the skin of the grapes. During 10 days the sugar changes in alcohol.  We pump the juice several times to keep wet the cap of skins that usually floates on the top of the tanks. This is very important to take the flavours, colour and tanins from the skins.

This is a very attractive time for winelovers, which increase the visits to our winery.  We are members of Ruta del Vino Ribera del Duero, so in harvest time we offer our visitors (adults and children) to taste the grapes and the grape juice.

At the end of November vine leaves dry and fall so we can start to prune their branches. Then everything starts  one more time  in the vineyards.