Tinto Figuero

Ribera del Duero, Spain

Jose Maria Garcia and Milagros Figuero are a vine-growing couple who have devoted their entire lives to looking after their "majuelos," or young vines. They are proud heirs to a culture that has been handed down through several generations. Each day is filled with care of more than 45 hectares of vines, over half of which were carefully and meticulously farmed by their ancestors, some of the vines still producing grapes today date back to the 1930s.

After many years of concentrating exclusively on the cultivating their vines with the aim of producing "top flight" grapes that were then turned into the finest quality wines by renowned wine makers in Spain's premiere Ribera del Duero wine regions, the couple decided to embark on a project that they knew would take a great deal of tenacity and expertise - to make their own wines.

Their simple, straight-forward mission statement is to "make the Garcia Figuero wines and winery reflect the experience, hard work and perseverance of generations."

The wines of Garcia Figuero are all 100% Tempranillo - Spain's "signature" red grape, the backbone of the wines from the Ribera del Duero and the only grape variety planted on the Estate. Twenty five hectares of Garcia Figuero's vineyards feature Tempranillo vines older than 60 years.

In 2001, with the aid of their three children - Carlos, Henar and Antonio - the actual winery became a reality. La Horra, the place that had witnessed the farm's growth over the centuries at one of the most prestigious locations along the banks for the Duero River, was chosen.

Over 1,000 barrels lie in the aging room, where they enjoy a perfect underground silence and a stable, year round temperature of 12-15 degrees Celsius. Made from the best American and French oak - toasted differently by renowned master coopers and renewed every three years - these barrels are instrumental in endowing Garcia Figuero's wines with their unmistakable bouquet.

As Jose and Milagros' children become more and more involved in the family business, it is assured that all the expertise, all the knowledge and all the pride that has led Garcia Figuero to become one of the top wine names in the regions will continue into the succeeding Figuero generations.