Winemaker
Rafael Somonte
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- San Roman De Bembibre, Spain
i. Biography
At Dominio de Tares in San Román de Bembibre, León, the work starts in the vineyard: old parcels, schist slopes, and sites in Bierzo that carry their own history into the cellar. Since 2014, Rafael Somonte has worked inside that framework as technical director, shaping Mencía and Godello wines with a method built on site, vine age, and material restraint.
The Path
The technical side of the job was reinforced at ESADE Business & Law School, where Rafael Somonte built the discipline and structure that now sit behind his wine work. Since 2014, he has served as enologist and technical director of Dominio de Tares, and as director general of Bodegas Dominio de Tares. The approach is direct: read the vineyard closely, keep the work tied to place, and let the bottle carry that evidence without extra noise.
The Work Today
Old vines are the axis of the range. Cepas Viejas, the winery’s flagship red, is one of the early references for Mencía from Bierzo, and its name states the method plainly: mature vineyards first. P3 pushes that idea further, sourced from 110-year-old ungrafted vines in the San Carlos plot, where age is not decoration but the basis of the wine’s identity. Bembibre works from several schist parcels on slopes that reach a 22% gradient, a blend that asks for precision because the terrain leaves little room for improvisation. Baltos shows the same grape in a younger register, from 40-year-old vines and with four months of barrel aging. La Sonrisa de Tares brings in white wine through a 100% Godello cuvée first released in the 2015 vintage. Together, the wines outline a clear estate logic: vine age, soil, and topography are not background details, but the structure of the range. He has said, "At Dominio de Tares we only make wines from old vineyards; that is where the name of our most emblematic wine, Cepas Viejas, comes from."
Career - enologist — Dominio de Tares, San Román de Bembibre, Bierzo, Spain (2014–present) - technical director — Dominio de Tares, San Román de Bembibre, Bierzo, Spain (2014–present) - director general — Bodegas Dominio de Tares, Bierzo, Spain Education: ESADE Business & Law School
Signature
Rafael Somonte’s signature wines include Cepas Viejas, Bembibre, and Baltos.
In Their Words “At Dominio de Tares we only make wines from old vineyards; that is where the name of our most emblematic wine, Cepas Viejas, comes from.”
FAQ What is Rafael Somonte's current role? As of 2026, Rafael Somonte is Technical Director. Where did Rafael Somonte train or study? Rafael Somonte trained at ESADE Business & Law School. What recognition has Rafael Somonte received?
