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Mar 03 2025 How Bodegas Valduero Created One of the World’s Most Exclusive Wine Clubs
What do Cristiano Ronaldo, Glenn Close, and Mark Knopfler have in common? They are all members of Membresía La Tenada by Valduero, an exclusive club at Bodegas Valduero in Ribera del Duero, which has captivated global stars and renowned personalities.
Since its founding in 2004 with just 10 members, this elite club has grown to around 300, attracting acclaimed chefs, writers, and Oscar-winning directors. The reason is clear: unique privileges at a European winery that competes with the world’s best.
Members enjoy 20 private dinners for up to 20 guests at Valduero’s exclusive restaurant, personalized winery tours, and tastings with the owners. Entry to the club is gained by purchasing a barrel of Valduero’s finest wines, with prices ranging from $7,200 to $20,000. Each barrel, after years of aging in oak, is bottled and custom-labeled for the member.
Carolina García Viadero, co-owner of Valduero alongside her sister Yolanda, highlights:
“Our goal is to provide a personalized service for each member. We do not seek exclusivity through wealth but through excellence.”Upon visiting the winery, members sign their barrel, marked with a brass plaque, in a hallway leading to the hilltop restaurant. There, at La Tenada, they enjoy traditional dishes such as cordero lechal (suckling lamb), paired with Valduero’s award-winning Tempranillo and Albillo Mayor wines.
The club also offers private dining experiences at top Madrid restaurants, including Charrúa, Tatel, and Ten con Ten. But beyond the benefits, it’s the wine itself that truly captivates. Glenn Close expressed it memorably:
“May my art age and endure as elegantly as your wines.”Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, also a member, describes it as an honor:
“Valduero keeps alive the grand tradition of wine, a fundamental pillar of Western culture.”🔗 Discover more about Membresía La Tenada here.
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Feb 15 2025 Valduero Stands Out in Robb Report as a Leading Producer of Albillo Mayor Wines
The prestigious publication Robb Report has recognized Valduero as one of the most outstanding wineries in the production of age-worthy white wines in Spain.
In a recent article, the magazine highlights the potential of Albillo Mayor, an indigenous variety from Ribera del Duero that is gaining international recognition for its complexity and aging potential.
The article emphasizes how Albillo Mayor, a grape with a centuries-old history, has traditionally been used in small proportions in red wines but is now emerging as a high-value option for the production of premium white wines. Thanks to its balanced acidity and maturation capacity, this variety offers wines with remarkable evolution in the bottle, combining fruity notes with a silky texture and pronounced minerality.

Valduero, with its focus on quality and authenticity, has expertly harnessed the qualities of Albillo Mayor. The winery has meticulously selected vineyards and developed vinification processes that allow the unique character of this variety to shine. As a result, its white wines have captured the attention of critics and industry experts, establishing themselves as a benchmark in Ribera del Duero and beyond.
This recognition reinforces Valduero’s commitment to innovation and the revival of indigenous grape varieties that bring a unique identity to its wines. With this mention in Robb Report, the winery continues to position itself as a leader in the production of high-quality wines with international projection.
To read the full article, visit the following link: Robb Report
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Nov 27 2024 Valduero Blanco Reserva: An Icon of Spanish White Wine Recognized by Robb Report
White wine has often been overlooked when it comes to aging potential, but the recent recognition of Valduero Blanco Reserva 2016 in a prominent international publication challenges this misconception. This wine, crafted by Bodegas Valduero, has been praised as one of the finest examples of how white wines can gain complexity and refinement over time.
A Legacy of Excellence in Ribera del Duero
The Valduero Blanco Reserva is the result of the dedication of Yolanda and Carolina García Viadero, who championed the Albillo Mayor grape long before it was officially recognized by the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin in 2021. With over 12 hectares of vineyards devoted to this indigenous variety, Bodegas Valduero has led the revitalization of this unique grape, creating a reserva wine that perfectly combines tradition and innovation.

A Wine of Character and Complexity
Valduero Blanco Reserva 2016 stands out with its exquisite notes of nectarine, Golden Delicious apple, white chocolate, dried thyme, and a subtle hint of smoke. Its creamy texture and bold acidity make it a balanced, characterful wine with a remarkable aging potential of at least another decade. This level of craftsmanship highlights not only the versatility of Albillo Mayor but also its ability to compete with world-class white wines in complexity and elegance.
International Acclaim
The article recognizing the virtues of Valduero Blanco Reserva is part of a broader exploration of age-worthy white wines. This accolade not only underscores Bodegas Valduero’s pioneering efforts in the region but also reinforces Spain’s position on the global map of fine white wines.
Learn More
To delve deeper into this story and discover more about Valduero Blanco Reserva and other exceptional age-worthy white wines, you can read the full article in the international publication that celebrates this oenological milestone. Click the link below for more details:
https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/best-aged-white-wines-1235996977/
The Valduero Blanco Reserva is a testament to the fact that patience, respect for terroir, and innovation can create extraordinary wines that redefine expectations.
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Nov 27 2024 What makes a Spanish red wine a work of art?
Low-bush vines, four years’ careful nurturing in oak and one winemaker’s artisanal philosophy have led European collectors to award 99 points out of 100 to a tempranillo vintage
Great-quality grapes aren’t all it takes when it comes to making world-class wines. Just ask the Valduero family, whose careful craftsmanship and respect for the land has secured its winery’s spot as one of the most prestigious in Spain.
But how is it that Valduero has risen through international rankings to become one of the best wineries in the world?
Yolanda García Viadero, a member of the vineyard’s founding family, believes it’s the producer’s unique philosophy that sets it apart. Valduero aims to turn each bottle of wine into its own work of art – and this approach is revealed in every step of the winemaking process.
It starts in the upland of Ribera del Duero, where all the vineyards are located. Here, excellent soil conditions are combined with a viticulture that takes great care of the environment.
Valduero does not irrigate its vineyards, avoiding the use of fertilisers or chemicals. Instead it incorporates a bold commitment to traditional viticulture in its winemaking, solely relying on nature to provide what’s needed.
Yolanda organises a selection of tempranillo racemes – unbranched clusters of inflorescence on the plants – in each vineyard. Depending on the year and its climatic characteristics – which she calls “excellence” – Yolanda then chooses the racemes she considers unique from the very low yields of each vine.
This careful consideration at every stage has a clear result: award-winning artisanal wines, such as Valduero Una Cepa Premium.

This complex red is a product of the low-bush vineyards that Yolanda tends. Production is 100 per cent handcrafted and artisan, never touched by a machine. The wine is aged in barrels of high-quality wood, and passes through oak from different sources for four years, acquiring their various nuances.
This experimentation with different woods is a process 20 years in the making, which Yolanda describes as “slow cooking – the creation of art”, and the end product is nothing short of that.
With an intense garnet colour and notes of black fruit, blackberry and fruit compote, Una Cepa Premium is an elegant, well-defined wine. The accolades say so too.
Valduero Una Cepa Premium was tasted by three European collectors in April: David Krautheim, Nish Pandya and Mauricio Roca. Together with the first Spanish master of wine, Pedro Ballesteros, they awarded it 99 points out of 100.
In its 2011 vintage, collectors also awarded Valduero Una Cepa Premium 99 points out of 100, highlighting its potential to improve in the bottle for at least another decade.
And Wine Enthusiast awarded the vintage a whopping 97 points out of 100 – the ratings speak for themselves really.
Valduero Una Cepa Premium is only made in special vintages, and its editions are very limited. It is a privilege to uncork a magnificent 12-year-old bottle. When asked for her favourites, Yolanda doesn’t hesitate: “The 2010 and 2011. And the Valduero Una Cepa Premium of 2015.”
Yolanda is convinced that fashions pass, but excellence endures, and this can surely be said of the exceptional wines produced by Valduero.
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Oct 08 2023 Wine Searcher positions Valduero Lantigua 1991 as the highest-value wine in Spain.
The most respected wine searcher, Wine Searcher, positions Valduero Lantigua 1991 as the highest-value wine in Spain. Yolanda García Viadero, its creator, refers to it as “the summit of an idea.” Daughter and sister of winemakers, she is convinced that only perfectionism leads to excellence.

“We believe that in life, you shouldn’t just try, you should achieve,” says Yolanda García Viadero of Bodegas Valduero. She continues, “When that happens, let’s say that luck comes to you. First when choosing the land, the terrain where we settled in Ribera del Duero, the epicenter of the best vineyards in the area to create the finest wines. And then, there is the habit of seeking perfection. We are perfectionists, and that brings us closer to excellence.”
According to Wine Searcher, the most prestigious and highest-value in Spain, the perfectionism that characterizes the work of Bodegas Valduero is evident when looking at the Wine Searcher ranking. Among those mentioned, the most expensive and prestigious is Valduero Lantigua 1991.
Below are some of the media outlets that have covered the news:

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Dec 11 2023 Valduero 12 años 2004, 99 points Wine Enthusiast
The new vintage of 2004 enters the Olympus of the world’s best wines.

New vintage Valduero 12 años 2004
99 points Wine Enthusiast
“We are pleased to announce that Valduero 12 years, a handmade jewel, enters the Olympus of the great wines of the world, has received 99 points Wine Enthusiast who describes it as:
Valduero 2004 Valduero 12 Años Gran Reserva (Ribera del Duero). Aromas of blackberry, butterscotch and soft baking spices. Black currant and Mission fig flavors are joined by notes of gingerbread spice, milk chocolate and a touch of violet. Nineteen years on, fruit and acidity are still going strong, while polished tannins have mellowed with age.”




