Amelia Aragon

Amelia Aragon's Story

"I have to admit it, my brother Oscar is the head winemaker, but we work very close together!

He decided to study winemaking because originally our father's old vineyards where vinified in the local cooperative and it was such a shame for our old very high quality grapes to be blended with all the rest of the fruit from the area.

I just love working so close to the land in such an unexploited environment and meeting people from different cultures with a strong affinity in wine. We strive to make elegant wines highlighting the typicity of Ribera del Duero terroir- avoiding overconcentration- . Purity, fruit, low yields, long aging and hand selection.

We have had some sad times at our vineyard, after losing £40,000 in unpaid invoices from Oddbins we then had to watch as our unpaid wines were been re-sold for less than it cost us to make them in their other companies.

There have also been times of joy though, finding out that one of our old vineyards dates back from pre-phylloxera times!!

My family has made wine for personal consumption for as long as records go, but in the 1970s Amalio Aragon started to acquire top vineyard sites in Ribera del Duero. The area had started to emerge as the new area for Tempranillo, and in 1982, the new classification of Ribera del Duero Denominacion de Origen (DO) was created. Within the Ribera, vineyards around the village of Quintana del Pidio seemed particularly promising for fine wine production, and that is precisely where Amalio Aragon expanded his vineyards. 1995 was the first vintage of Cillar de Silos, and the wines have gained reputation ever since.

We are so proud of our wine, so great to hear the International wine press praising the quality of Cillar de Silos wines, and in 2010 one of our wines, the Torresilo, won the Ribera del Duero Trophy at the International Wine Challenge.

Both Oscar and I, in fact the whole Aragon family really hope that you like the Cillar de Silos. We are interested to read what you think!

Saludos,

Amelia"