I tasted several impressive and reasonably priced Spanish reds that I had to share with you. Most of them are not typical varieties that one first thinks of when looking for Spanish reds.
Top Spanish Reds beyond Tempranillo and Garnacha
If you go to the Spanish section in your wine shop, almost all the monovarietal red wines you’ll find are Tempranillo or Garnacha based. Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro and many other wine regions/designations use Tempranillo (or one of its local synonyms like Cencibel, Tinto Fino, or Tinto de Toro) as the primary grape. Many other regions, especially in the northeast part of Spain use Garnacha, such as in Priorat. Sometimes you’ll find Carignan here as the dominant red over Garnacha but less so today. Lastly, Monastrell (Mourvedre) makes fairly well distributed, bargain reds from places like Jumilla, Yecla or Alicante.
One of the most planted varieties that people don’t know about is Bobal. It’s often used as a blending partner to add color and structure. It’s a grape I like because it has dark fruit flavors but high acidity–usually high acid wines veer towards red fruits and black fruit notes in wine often mean lower acid. Where you’re most likely to find it is in Utiel-Requena, but I found an excellent bottle from neighboring Manchuela for only $30.
I also found a top Bierzo Mencia red for about $35. Mencia from Galicia is a grape I’ve always loved. There, I find it’s similar to Pinot Noir. However, I haven’t always enjoyed Mencia from Bierzo, which can be overdone with darker fruit flavors instead and too much oak. This Mencia from Bierzo might be one of the best I’ve ever had from any region though.
Lastly, I found a producer from Valencia making wine from lost, forgotten varieties* like Mandó (Garrut), Arcos and Verdil. The one I tasted was only $25 and features Mandó with some Arcos. Mandó was a nearly extinct grape that can be found in Catalonia and Valencia. There aren’t enough people making it at the moment to really pinpoint any specific characteristics it’s supposed to have, and I can’t find much information online.
As a bonus, I’m including a tasting note of an amazing 1976 Rioja I tasted with these wines. It’s not a lesser known variety or region nor was it cheap at $90. However, given the age, it’s a relative bargain and was special if you like aged wines. A Bordeaux of similar quality and age would cost twice as much at least.
*Of course there are lots of international varieties like Cabernet and Pinot Noir also being made in Spain along with more producers rediscovering local indigenous varieties. I’ll be back in Spain in a month, so maybe I’ll find some more gems. During my last Spain trip, I also found some lesser known varieties.
Tasting Notes
2020 Celler del Roure Safra Valencia
70% Mandó (Garrut) & 30% Arcos. Stainless steel fermented. 30% whole clusters. Native yeasts. Aged in 2,600-liter tinaja for 6 months. They also make other cuvees with these varieties. I have a bottle of their Parotet (pictured but not tasted) which uses the same varieties but is dominated by Arcos more than Mandó.
Singing on the nose and the palate with bright red fruit and rose notes. The texture is already elegant and silky. Medium bodied. Medium+ acidity. Reminds me of a bit of a good Nebbiolo but without the tannins and tar notes. Around 1,600 cases made. 93
2018 Bodegas Ponce Pino Manchuela Bobal
100% whole clusters from 40 year old vines. Fermented in oak vats with native yeasts and aged in used French oak barrels for 11 months. Only 167 cases made.
The wine overall reminds me of good classic Southern Rhone wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, especially ones with a decent amount of Syrah in it. There’s a bit of funk and savory Mediterranean brush aspect to the nose with blue and black berry fruit and spice on the palate. Easy going tannins. Medium-bodied and just enough acidity at the end and low enough alcohol to keep it from going over the top. Versatile with lots of food. 93
2020 Paixar Luna Beberide Mencia Bierzo Dragonte
Mencia but it’s a field blend, so there are even some white grapes in this. Aged in various sized oak once used barrels. Many consider this producer the best Mencia producer in Bierzo.
This has an earthy, smoky minerally nose; it’s grown on high altitude slate soil. You get a lot of that on the backend of the palate too with a long lingering saltiness that is uplifted by the juicy acidity. The fruit is more on the dark berry side. Medium-bodied and some significant tannic structure to age and evolve. Right now, it’s dominated by salty minerally notes which I find intriguing. If this were a whiskey, it’d be Islay whiskey with the focus on the intense smoky minerality. I love Islay whiskey so this is up my alley but others may want more fruit at the moment. Don’t get much oak at the moment either. However, the fruit comes out more with food and the wine should continue to evolve. 94
1976 Bodegas Corral Gran Reserva Rioja
Founded in 1898, Bodegas Corral is located in the Rioja town of Navarrete on the original pilgrims’ trail called the “Ruta Jacobea” (Way of St. James), the northern route to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. This wine was grown on vines that were 36 to 51 years old in 1976. I bought this about a year ago and the wine had been aging in the winery since 1976 prior.
Decanted to get broken cork and a bit of sediment out although this wine seems rebottled. I doubt it’s the original cork and bottle from 76. The color is still quite youthful. I would’ve guessed 20-25 rather than 47+. It starts off quite tertiary with tobacco, leather, dried fruit, cedar. Good acidity. Tannins resolved completely and no sense of the alcohol (13%). However, after an hour a lot of red fruit and even floral notes emerged before returning to more savory and tertiary notes. To me it’s in a great spot with no huge rush. Should still be good at age 50 if it’s your birth year. 94
Conclusion
I’m not sure I’ve ever done a review on this blog with such high scores across the board. Nothing on this blog is sponsored, so it’s purely my honest opinion. Most of the wines are pre-selected by me because they fit the theme and/or are known for being high quality. Sometimes I don’t know what to expect at all since I’m experimenting with lots of regions and varieties, but I like diversity and am open-minded to all styles and types of wine. Therefore, perhaps it seems like I give out 90 points too easily. At the same time, I rarely go 94 or more. I drink mostly affordable wines on my own budget, so I don’t drink 100 point level wines everyday. In addition, I start to become stingier with scores once I go above 90. Moreover, I don’t add points for aging potential or value like some people do. You can read more about how I score here.
