Anta Bodega

Last Monday May 8th, I was a guest of Teodoro Ortega, Managing Director of Anta Natura, an important new winery in Spain's Ribera del Duero D.O. This D.O., named for the Duero River which runs though it on its way west to Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean, is home to some of Spain's biggest wines. Its high elevation (1,000 meters above sealevel), with long hours of sunshine and sharp temperature drops at night, make for excellent growing conditions.

Anta began as a concept for grape production, led by Teodoro Ortega and his brother Federico, in the late 1990's. They acquired lands outside of the town of Aranda del Duero, which now are in two plots of 75 and 150 hectares. The grapes used are mainly Tempranillo, plus Cabernet, some Merlot vines of impressive quality and other varieties for experimentation.

But as the brothers further developed the project, they came to the idea of creating a winery to fully realize the potential of the project. Taking the name of Anta, which comes from the Greek word for column, the winery was born. Federico, an architect by profession, designed the winery building which is now in construction and on-schedule for inauguration with this year's harvest.
This is a unique, all-wood building, that fits nicely in the open valley and the vineyards that surround it. It has wide glass panels on the upper floor to allow for controlled use of natural light. The winery system works gravitationally, which avoids stressing the musts and wines by not pumping them around the facility.

Anta currently produces a range of three wines: the Anta 4: an introductory red wine, with brief aging in French oak; the Anta 10, a more complex red, with a correct use (and restraint) of fruitiness and oak; and the Anta 16 (originally termed Anta Seleccion) is a further-aged red, very elegant and well balanced.

Anta wines should be gaining a lot of attention by wine drinkers everywhere!