A few weeks ago, during a journey through Castille, my wife and I visited these Wine Cellars and took a Tasting Session. I must say that the entire experience was a disappointment and not worth the price (37 euros/person). We learned some aspects of wine tasting, but not much else, and visiting the underground cellars was something of a let down. Particularly, the "Theater Play" part of it. Our previous experiences in other regions of Spain, France and Germany, have been much, much, better. We did not enjoy climbing down to the underground cellars through very narrow and uneven stairs, only to look at some very old wine barrels and dark tunnels. The lady doing the talking, did not manage to keep our attention or interest (we both understand Spanish). The tasting session (five wines) was better, we learned a thing or two, and that was it. The accompanying snacks, bread and cold cuts were nothing special. An additional annoyance at these Bodegas is the lack of adequate sanitary facilities. Just one stall/gender. These proved very inadequate when you have groups of adults concentrated at a given time in the same location. My recommendations are; stay away from Aranda's wine cellars, and go directly to larger wineries. I must add that Aranda seems to get very crowded on Saturdays, and if you want to enjoy other town attractions do visit on weekdays.

This review is for the wine retail, NOT the cellar tour. We did go to the cellar tour and upon leaving asked about retail sales. They took me to a cellar behind a hidden door with a thumbprint reader to get in which was very cool. There were certainly some amazing wines in there and we wanted to have a few special bottles shipped home. We went with their recommendations but since we were on a tour of Ribera we had little time to research the recommended wines. My wife just said get it and let’s go. Something I will never do in the again. It turned out we were either overcharged or their prices are just outrageous. They charged me $390 for a 2012 Vina Sastre Pesus. Turns out I could get this for under $300 elsewhere in Spain and even in the U.S. Worse they charged me $280 for a 2011 Aalto Ps which avg mkt price is not even half. Luckily I swapped that one out for something with a fairer price. The other wines were also about 35% over avg market prices but thank goodness they weren’t nearly as expensive bottles. Just as bad as their pricing was their communication. Upon purchase they said they would send an email confirmation of the purchase with shipping details. A week went by without any confirmation so I send an email to their general mailbox to request an update as well as a call courtesy of our hotel’s conceirge and still no response for 2 more days. I was just about to attempt to cancel the order when they responded and since it was such a hassle already I just kept the order in place. With spending so much on high end wine, you would think their customer service would be on point and if they had reasonable prices, I’m sure they would have long term customers. Not sure how they remain in business but I will certainly not purchase from here again. For anyone looking for wine in Spain, definitely check out Vila Viniteca for not only a great selection, but great customer service and great prices.

This was a really unique wine tasting under the street in Aranda de Duero. It was very interesting to hear the history of the place and then drink the wine. I did not care for the red wines, but the Cava and the white wine were delicious. They also give you a little snack to teach you about pairing food and wine. It was a great experience overall.

Before coming to Aranda de Duero I had no idea that there were 8km of subterranean passageways and bodegas below the city, and just stumbling down uneven stairs to the constant 15º of the bodegas, makes you aware of the onerous and demanding work that went on before the invention of modern methods. The guide gave us a very thorough picture of how the wines were processed since the 14thC and dealt with the subject in a knowlegeable but easily assimilated way. However, the first staircase proved one staircase too many for my husband, so we had to leave before we undertook the second stairway to the wine tasting . Pity !

We visited this winery last Saturday and was better than what we expected. The historic tour that they gave us was extremely good. The wine tasting and their explanation was excellent. Would recommend this “bodega” to anyone.

We reserved a time to visit and we had a audio guide to tell us about the history of Aranda and it’s wine cellars. It was very informative. Then we went back to the main room and tasted 3 different red wines from various years. Patricia was our hostess and made our wine tasting experience wonderful. I highly recommend going to Don Carlos.

Check out the caves beneath the streets of Aranda, but most important, great source of information about Ribera del Duero, very helpful and knowledgable staff, wine tasting too, can compare wines from different areas of the region, they have maps to the wineries

I agree with the person who wrote the "uninviting" review. I showed up around 1230 after reviewing operating hours, and when I got there, the guy working there rudely told me a visit would be "impossible." There were no tours going on, but they were prioritizing 7 Spanish speaking clients who were supposedly going to be doing a tour later. There was no "come back later" or anything, just "impossible." Jerk. Hence this place seems hit or miss, as I also read some good reviews, but I'd say may sure this place is your plan B or C and not your primary objective cause they were rude to me and rude to others. Contrast that with Lagar de Isilla just down the block and there really is not point in visiting Don Carlos because the Lagar de Isilla is a fantastic place to visit. The cellars are amazing, the staff are very nice, and the tapas and wine menu are fantastic.

It says it opens at 10.30am and we arrived at 11am. It was closed so came back at 11.30am. The lady at the counter COMPLETELY ignored us and we just stood there and waited whilst she attended to admin business. She was aware of us (as we had said hello) but made no effort to engage with us. After standing there for over 5 awkward silent minutes, we decided to leave. Beyond disappointing.

very educational. the guide conducted a tasting of wines while educating us on how to taste informatively using senses and a way to categorize smells and tastes. very good foods presented to pair with each wine.

We toured the caves and we tasted the wine. Christina waited on us and took such good care. She recommended wineries for us to visit and it was wonderful as we enjoyed our visits We also ordered wine and had it shipped to our home in Pennsylvania It was very exciting when it arrived THANK YOU CHRISTINA

very helpful staff, interesting wines, the cellar is a long way down. At one time the cellars in the city were all connected about 10 km. The tasting here was OK but we did come here ant the end of tourist season. November is after tourist season so tours are limited by owners. use a guide to get the most of cellar tours

We had an excellent guide for the tasting. We walked down, down, down many stairs into the cave for an explanation of the unusual city with wine cellars everywhere under the streets with vents on street level. At the tasting, the guide explained how to sip and ID the sweet, acid, bitter qualities of a wine and how to ID the strength of an aroma. Each wine was paired with a mini and appropriate food to enhance the wine tasting experience. May be impossible for handicapped or elderly to go down into the caves.

We were so lucky to meet a lady in the shop upstairs as we were running out of time and not in a tour group. We pleaded with her to allow us visit the cellar. She did accommodate us and we want to express our appreciation. People like her are worth their weight in gold to visitors.

Wine tasting was an unexpected idea from my wife. We chose Bodega don Carlos on our way to Madrid. We are not very experienced wine tasters but this place made us fans. I am not sure how to describe it all, but it was very pleasant.