The protected appellation of origin Ribera del Duero has only been around since 1982, and seven years later Felix Callejo founded his own winery in the sleepy, three-hundred-strong wine village of Sotillo de la Ribera. He married teacher Pilar from the village primary school, a masterstroke, because that way you know your children will get an excellent education while you are in the vineyards. Their four children say it was funny that mum was teacher during the day and mum at night. By the way, two of the daughters are psychology graduates.

In 2000, Callejo took the decision to go organic.

Second generation

The second generation is now at the helm here, as Felix's three daughters and son now drive the company forward energetically. Cristina handles exports, while José-Felix and Noelia Callejo continue Felix's dream in the cellar. Beatriz is responsible for the local market. To be well prepared for the future, they gained practical experience at other (top) companies. José-Felix did internships at Pétrus in Pomerol (1999), but also at Torres in Chile (2000). His sister Noelia worked at Araujo in Napa Valley, USA (this company has since been bought by the owner of Château Latour in Pauillac) and at Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina.

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Pétrus

Together, they are responsible for the entire winemaking process. Asked for the most important detail of the internship at Pétrus, José-Felix reveals that he was most impressed by the way work was done in the vineyards there.
Shortly afterwards, in 2000, Callejo took the decision to go organic. With this move, they looked back to the oldest traditions in their region, but also with a clear view forward from the conviction that organic is going to become the norm in agriculture and horticulture. Ribera del Duero lends itself perfectly to organic viticulture due to its altitude and the ever-present wind, which keeps the grapes dry and mould-free.

Felix Callejo married Miss Pilar. Felix's three daughters and son now drive the business forward energetically.

Callejo, too, has now moved towards vineyard certification, realising that consumers must be able to tell the difference on the label. With effect from the 2021 harvest, all wines will be certified organic.

No rush

Sotillo de la Ribera is located on the northern border of the region, the basin of the Douro River. The vineyards are relatively high at 830 to 930 metres. The soil there is variegated with strongly calcareous soils, but also gravelly soils once brought in by the river. There are large plots of sandy soil and there is oily river clay in the lower-lying parts. In total, they grow grapes on 27 plots totalling almost 55 hectares. They are open to quiet expansion of the vineyard area though, there is no rush.

Whereas dad Felix was looking for very large plots, the children are aiming for much smaller ones, but with excellent location, soil composition and exposure

Whereas father Felix looked for very large parcels, the children aim for much smaller parcels, but with an excellent location, soil composition and exposure. As far as they are concerned, 'parcel vinification' is becoming the norm here. One hectare was added in April 2021.
One then looks emphatically at the soil and then plants the best matching grape variety. Felix Callejo's children have also reinstated another, much older, planting scheme. This is either square, 1.70 by 1.70 m, or oblong, 1.70 by 1.30 m, between the vines. Z

They call this a frame. Funny thing is that they call this frame 'high density' planting, but with a maximum of 4,000 vines per hectare, it lags well behind other parts of the world in terms of planting density where there are up to 12,000 vines per hectare. Papa Callejo worked with 2,000 to 2,500 vines per hectare to accommodate the tractors just introduced into the vineyards at the time, 50 years ago. The vines remain close to the ground, but the shoots from which the bunches hang are guided along steel wires to prevent them from being damaged or broken.

What is particularly striking in Ribera del Duero is the wide variety of soil types in a limited number of square kilometres. In the case of Callejo, within two kilometres of the winery you can really find everything that makes this area so special. All the soil types described above come into play.

From some distance, the different colours of the soil are clearly discernible. At the foot of the hills dark reddish-brown clayey soil and as you get higher up the hill lighter strongly calcareous soil. Fat soil gives fat wine and the much poorer (calcareous) soil is the driver of finesse.

Felix Callejo

What you should expect from a top company these days - apart from an ecologically responsible policy in the vine - is also a state-of-the-art and very hygienic cellar room. At Felix Callejo, the ripe fruit (mainly tinto fino or tempranillo) is picked plot by plot by hand. Immediately after this, the fruit passes through two sorting tables to the winemaking rooms. All cellar operations take place under falling pressure, i.e. gravity. No pumps or conveyor belts to move fruit or juice quickly here, just peace and quiet.

Papa

Recently, the giant tanks installed by Dad were exchanged for thirty much smaller variants, all stainless steel and equipped with cooling, or heating if required, in the double wall. By 2022, the just-constructed, 1,100-square-metre (!) vinification room will be ready and another 15 stainless steel tanks will be added. In fact, with 27 vineyards and four grape varieties, there is a great need for smaller tanks for 'parcel vinification'. Part of this future-oriented addition will be that the old concrete vats now in another building will also come to the new vinification hall: nine cuves of 8000 litres capacity each.

Due to an awkward piece of legislation, until 2013 no concrete vats without epoxy interiors were allowed in the space where D.O. Ribera del Duero wines were made. That has now changed and now the excellent concrete vats are allowed to be in one room with stainless steel and wooden vats.

All fruit is picked manually and passes two sorting tables.

All the fruit is picked by hand and passes two sorting tables before moving to the fermentation vats with drop pressure. Fermentation can already start gently at very low temperatures. In fact, they use cool soaking, after which the temperature is allowed to slowly rise to around 25 degrees Celsius.

Callejo

This either happens naturally, or they lend a hand by slightly heating the fermentation tanks. Second or malolactic fermentation takes place in the fermentation tank, except for Majuelo, Felix Callejo and Gran Callejo; those three top wines undergo second fermentation in oak barrels. Incidentally, only 225-litre barrels and 500-litre 'demi muids' of French oak are used here.

These are bought from renowned barrel makers such as Boutes, Seguin-Moreau, Demptos, Tonnelerie Bordelaise and Tarransaud. Pressing the grapes is done with a large, vertical Vaslin-Bucher press that allows maximum control of the pressure on the fruit. There is also an in-house, spotlessly clean bottling plant.

To control the wood tone in the wine, only some of this wood is new each year. About 150 barrels a year. And the 'toasting' is always low, i.e. the way the barrels are burnt in during their production. The only wine aged annually in 100% new wood is the flagship Felix Callejo.

Impressive wines

A winemaker only really proves itself when the entry-level wine is already good enough to blow you out of your socks. This is certainly the case with Flores de Callejo. Their simplest wine but still so good that the world's leading tasters give it fantastic points, 90 to 92 points to be precise. And these are not the least journalists, as we are talking Tim Atkin, James Suckling, Stephen Tanzer and Robert Parker. We are not talking about a 30-pound wine here, but one that costs half that. Sparkling dark purple-red in colour.

The vineyards are relatively high at 830 to 930 metres.

With an impressive and deeply fruity aroma. Wonderful concentration and depth. A perfect example of contemporary winemaking technique while respecting the customs of the past. This wine comes from clayey soils at an altitude of 830 to 850 metres. Only natural yeast is used and maturation takes place for five months in large oak casks and tanks, followed by blending: €14.95.

If the Flores de Callejo is the entry-level wine, it can only get better after that. With 91 to 95 points in the various wine media, it has taken the next step up. At 95%, the Parajes de Callejo (€26.95) consists of tinto fino supplemented by 5% albillo mayor. The latter is an ancient local white (!) grape. This variety is described by the ladies Callejo as the 'mother of tempranillo', while José-Felix calls it the 'father'. Either way, a grape variety essential in the production of top-quality red (!) wines.

It is an old custom to incorporate some white grapes into concentrated reds. Like a cloud of milk in strong tea. Thus, in the northern Rhone, it is customary to add some white grapes (about 5%) to giants like Hermitage and Côte-Rotie. The red grapes come from vineyards at 890 to 900 metres altitude and the whites are even harvested at 920 metres. Again, fat international points ranging from 91 (James Suckling) to 95 (Guía Gourmets)

Local hero

Of course, you can make white wine from the local hero, the albillo mayor, and they do just that. El Lebrero (€26.95), is the name of this creation. Pale yellow in hue and highly aromatic with scents of tropical fruit, but also floral notes alongside hints of green herbs. The wine ferments in 'demi muids', 500-litre oak barrels. The wine is then allowed to mature, partly in these barrels, partly in large concrete, egg-shaped tanks of which the estate currently owns two. In both cases, the yeast cells sunk to the bottom stay in contact with the wine through a natural rotation of the young wine within the egg. This gives extra depth and fat to the wine. Production is very small at around 7,000 bottles a year, almost microscopic in Spain where people don't blink at a million bottles of wine per variety.

The next wine to be showered with high scores is the (red) Majuelos de Callejo. Here, international points run from 90 to a whopping 97. The grape here is 100% tinto fino, now from vineyards at 870 to 890 metres altitude with strongly siliceous soils. It is a very fragrant wine with impressions of ripe plums, thyme, freshly ground pepper, new leather, mixed with fine wood tones. Very complex, in other words. Should be for the money, I hear you think. And rightly so. Because it is a gigantic glass of wine that costs money but also gives an insane amount in return. Big, big, great: € 44.95.

Papa Callejo took flying lessons and flew quite a few circles over the area. He noticed a strip of land where nothing was growing.

Finca Valderoble has a special history. Papa Callejo took flying lessons and flew a lot of laps over the area. He noticed a strip of land where nothing was growing. He figured out that an airstrip could come here, bought the plot and set to work with bulldozers. At least, until the local administrators got wind of it, then the fun was over immediately.

Son José-Felix, however, looked at the land from a wine perspective and discovered that this plot was ideally suited to viticulture. Now it is among Callejo's highest-lying plots, planted with tempranillo, or tinto fino, and merlot growing in strongly calcareous soil. They have honoured the air pocket belonging to a runway. Perhaps available in autumn 2021.

Superlatives

How many more superlatives do we have? Because we have now arrived at Félix Callejo. The wine named after its founder. The well-known recipe, 100% tinto fino, barrel-aged for 18 months in barrels of varying capacity. Production figures? Negligible, as only 3,000 bottles a year (!). It is a unique, handmade, ultra-limited edition wine sourced from very chalky soils. Points? Ah well, with a lowest score of 93 and the highest of 99, it is clear what we are dealing with here. A huge wine, overwhelming, voluptuous, big, bigger, grand. Huge, wonderfully unforgettable, at Premier Grand Cru level. Apart from the previously discovered excess of ripe red fruit, chocolate is also noticeable here. A terrific winner that really shouldn't be missing from any serious cellar: €119.50.

Eucalyptus

And then you think: was that it? No, because next comes the Gran Callejo. From 100% tinto fino harvested at 880 to 900 metres altitude. Pffew, what a wine this is. Convincing and dark sparkling red in colour. The lush aroma is deep and variegated, showing impressions of ripe red fruit complemented by hints of freshly ground (white) pepper, eucalyptus, cocoa and dried green herbs. Sublime it is! Baking flavour, baking depth and aroma, baking tannin. Great.

International recognition

International recognition goes up to 98 points. And there is no point in lying about that. A striking detail is that all the wines carry the pink-coloured label of Ribera del Duero as a back label, except the Gran Callejo. That is officially classified as Gran Reserva. That means 24 months of aging in wood, followed by 36 months in bottle. The first year the wine matures in new barrels, the second year in barrels from two harvests old: €79.50.

Frankly, I suspect Bodegas Felix Callejo of being Spain's very best winemaker. Ex aequo with Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle, the mastermind behind Artadi. Rather than the sometimes almost undrinkably concentrated wines of elsewhere, Callejo's wines are the epitome of control and precision. This is also reflected during the tasting with the Callejo family. The main wines are served from large Burgundy chalices to bring finesse over power to your lips.