Spanish Wine

Pells is 100% Macabeu from a single, northeast-facing vineyard named “Vinya de la Caseta,” planted in 1969. The grapes are spontaneously fermented in a used 225L French oak barrel and 600L clay amphora with around 90 days on the skins.

After racking, the wine ages for 6 months without any stirring. Producer Description.

Winemaker Description

Produced from 100% Tinto Fino from vines age 30 years, aged 12 months in French Oak with minimal filtration. The result is a wine with a beautiful ruby colour with deep and intense aromas of red and black fruit with hints of liquorice and spice. The palate elegant and fresh with predominant fruit structure balanced by soft tannins and a lovely expressive finish.

It has the tannic richness of Ribera del Duero Tinto Fino, and smoky power from its oak, but the wine carries itself with some delicacy, its crisp fruit bringing fresh air.

Dominio Romano was established in 2005 when the Pares Balta family decided to to initiate a project in Ribera del Duero. Selecting the finest old and wild Tinto Fino vines in the best terroirs of the region, and farming with the utmost respect for the environment and tradition, the family produces wines that transmit the character of the autochthonous grape.

Winemaker Description

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Syrah. Deep red in colour which lingers in the glass. The ageing in oak is noticeable, well blended with fruity aromas which give it finesse and complexity.

Mouth-filling and complex, smooth and well balanced on the palate. This is a wine which shows slightly smoked red fruit. 

Winemkaker Description

The grapes are collected from vineyards on the slopes of the Verin Valley. It is a fragrant, light, very fruity and delicate wine, an outstanding example of the Galician Mencía variety.

Winemaker Description

A blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 24 months French & American oak. The wine exhibits a glass-coating opaque purple color.

The nose is expressive with pain grille, underbrush, brier, minerality, blueberry and blackberry fruit. On the palate is a plush, opulent wine with great density, savory flavors, and a lengthy finish.

Winemaker Description

Wine made with only grapes, well-kept vineyards, and healthy land.” 

This is the mantra of Castellano winegrower Alfredo Maestro, a bright light amongst an abyss of industrially farmed, over-ripe, over-oaked, and over-manipulated wine-scape that is the Ribera del Duero these days.   

Alfredo Maesto is a city man, who has become a farmer as a choice and not because of circumstances. He is guided by passion and love, which we find in each of his bottles. His production is mainly of reds (Tempranillo and Garnacha) which can be drank both young and aged; then there’s the LoveAmor, the albillo (white grapes) pure which surprises even the most demanding of tasters. Alfredo Maestro manages some vineyards near Madrid, but mainly in Castilla y Leon, in Penafel in the Ribera near Valladolid (the Spanish Bolgheri), land which has always celebrated the most famous Spanish reds. To process natural wines in this piece of land is like finding yourself on the frontline in the Caporetto battle and yet, Alfredo Maestro, teacher both in name and facts, acting as a righteous Charon he takes on the task of ferrying heretic sommeliers from vanilla wines with shavings icing towards the right way of pure, real wine. Winemaker Description. 

This saca de Junio comes from a Fino solera that has aged in a bodega in El Puerto de Santa Maria. It has spent the entirety of its time aging beneath a veil of flor. Typically used for blending purposes, this remarkable solera has never previously been bottled on its own. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Appearance: Intense bigarreau cherry color, clean and vivid from the high level and variation with evolution.

Aromatic intensity and complexity, where mainly black fruits appear which develop high roasts and tobaccos, with underlying balsamic notes.
taste    

In the mouth, it is fleshy and round, well structured, balanced, tannic, and with a persistent aftertaste. A very special wine with a singular character.

Pairing recommendation: Ideal for vegetables, juicy meats (roasts, lamb, game, etc) and cured cheeses.

Expert Reviews

92 Pts James Suckling: “concentrated, mature-berry character, generous tannins and a discreet hint of sweetness that make this an appealing wine with along, fresh finish.”

96 Pts Decanter Magazine: A nose of mature fruit and fruitcake, with balsamic hints, the palate is concentrated and complex with layers of lovely sweet black cherry fruit and velvety tannin.

Winemaker Description

The Gratavinum winery is located in the Priorat D.O.Q. of Spain was founded by the Cusiné family as a project to craft the most traditional wines from Penedés. This family also owns the Parés Baltà winery in Penedés and the Dominio Romano winery in the Ribera del Duero.

Following the Cusiné family philosophy of winemaking, all of the wines by the Gratavinum winery have been certified organic since 2004 and this winery pays the utmost respect to the environment and biodiversity of the region.

The Gratavinum winery crafts wines from the classic grapes of this region, Grenache and Cariñena, along with two very well adapted foreign grape varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

The enologists at Gratavinum have adapted their winemaking to include new techniques and systems to craft organic wines that present the maximum expression of their grapes.

Expert Reviews

Vinous Josh Raynolds 92+ Points | Dark purple. Complex, highly perfumed bouquet of red berries, cherry pit, incense and dried flowers. Spicy raspberry and cherry flavors show a refreshingly bitter quality and are given depth by a note of licorice. Packs a serious punch but there's a surprisingly lithe quality to this wine too. The finish clings with impressive tenacity and repeats the cherry and floral notes. I'd let this wine rest for at least another three years or so. By the way, the 2007 Calvario has put on weight in the last year but also possesses superb energy; I rated it 94 in August. - Vinous 92+

Wine Advocate Neal Martin writes 90 Points | The 2008 Calvario is a blend of 90% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha and 2% Graciano aged for 18 months in new French Allier oak. The nose offers broody blackberry and briary at first, leisurely unwinding to reveal black olive and violet aromas, with the oak well-knitted into the fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, sturdy tannins complemented by the fleshy black fruit laced with just a pinch of white pepper towards the much more elegant finish. It deserves a couple of years in bottle. (2008).

Decanter Sarah Jane Evans MW writes 93 Points |  A wine that smells of luxury and plenty of attention, showing the right balance between oak and fruit and a balancing acidity; expressive and charming, solidly built. Impressive, with tightly crafted tannins, and it should improve over time. Drinking 2019 -2023.

Winemaker Description

Rich reddish color with a russet tone. Combines the aroma of vanilla with the freshness of the grape variety. Balanced on the palate, smooth and elegant. 

Winemaker Description

Vivid deep ruby red wine, with aromatic intensity, pepper, licorice and cocoa notes on black fruit background and balsamic notes.  On the palate it is round, well structured, balanced with every nuances of the grape and the oak.

Ideal match to vegetables and juicy meat: lamb, roasts, game, and aged cheese.

Winemaker Description 

A Tempranillo with a small addition of 5% Viura, i.e. white grapes. This is not only unusual on the Côte-Rotie of the Northern Rhône, but also in the Rioja and the Ribera del Duero. The base wine already shows why the future of this prestigious region lies in the high altitudes of Rioja Alavesa. The cool nights up here create a unique freshness, a purity of fruit and wonderful floral-playful aromas.

Clearly violet to the black cherry, also blueberry, just very delicate hints of plum underneath, overall a lot of bright, fresh fruit, stimulating and clear as a bell. And the mouth is just as brilliantly polished and juicy, dark wild berries and a fine-grained, but by no means softened tannin structure make Artuke's quality and ripeness standards clear even in the basic segment. A beautiful, even slightly salty, precise high-altitude Tempranillo full of fruit and without any influence of wood. Winemaker Description.

Expert Review

93 Points Robert Parker | The 2020 Angelita del Challao comes from a blend of different vineyards in the three valleys from Labastida, looking for a village wine; it was produced with 85% Tempranillo and the rest Garnacha, Mazuelo, Viura, Garnacha Blanca and other rare varieties from their own vineyards and purchased grapes. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts, 40% full clusters that are foot trodden and the rest uncrushed grapes and matured in 225- and 500-liter barrels and 2,000-liter foudres—10 months with each plot separate—and then it was blended and let to settle in concrete for another 10 months. They look for a more approachable wine than Challao, with more floral aromas in a very elegant and harmonious way. The palate is medium-bodied with medium ripeness, 13.5% alcohol and very good freshness and acidity, balanced and harmonious, very tasty and with elegant, refined tannins. Really very good. 17,282 bottles and some larger magnums were filled in May 2022. (2020). 

Winemaker Description

Rioja is without question the most famous wine region in Spain, but the region is anything but homogeneous. The three sub-regions – Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alta – differ enormously. This wine comes from the small hamlet of Labastida in the northwest of Rioja Alavesa, the smallest and northernmost sub-region located in the Spanish Basque Country and characterized by calcareous clay and sandy soils. 

The mastermind behind the Dominio del Challao winery is Manu Michelini, whose family makes incredibly fine, terroir-driven wines under the name Michelini i Mufatto at both their winery in Bierzo, in northeastern Spain, and the Argentine winery in Mendoza. The Challao is the winery's top wine. Medium ruby ​​red with violet. There is significantly more intensity in the glass than with the Garnacha, but this wine still reminds me more of Burgundy than Bordeaux on the nose. The winery is clearly on the trail of elegance. Juicy, fresh wild berries, black cherries, rose petals and black Assam tea, that's delicately smoky. 

Then come violets and freshly fired clay. In the mouth, cassis, fresh blackberries and lots of black cherry again. The intense, chalky minerality is phenomenal, building up gradually on the tongue. Delicately bitter, fresh herbs and a touch of After Eight. The tannins are fine and chalky, and as soon as you feel the structure, the next wave of black cherry washes over your tongue. 

This is not at all what you imagine Rioja to be in the classic sense. But this wine is a lot of fun because of its freshness and mineral intensity without being boring. On the contrary, I am convinced that it will develop gracefully in the cellar for years because it is made for a long life. Super chic fabric and without question a Rioja in a class of its own! 

Winemaker Description

Slightly acid on the palate, giving it a young character. Pleasant and light.

Fresh and fruity, reminiscent of the varieties from which it is made, along with citric aromas.

Serving with Rice fish, Mixed rice, Crustaceans, Molluscan shell, Pasta with pesto sauce, Pasta with tomato sauce, Pasta with creamy sauces, Pasta with marinara sauce, Whitefish, Fish with sauce, Pizza.

Winemaker Description

Very pale brilliant yellow with regular lines of bubbles rising to form a crown. Very pleasant initial sensation with fine, light aromas and secondary aromas redolent of ageing in the bottle with hints of fruits and floral shades. A Brut which sits exquisitely on the palate, fully and creamy, yet dry and fresh at the same time, with a well-balanced acidity and an elegant, fruity and long finish. Well balanced, with an agreeable after-taste and good presence.

Expert Review

92 Points Wine Enthusiast |  A soft column of bubbles releases a bouquet of Seckel pear, vanilla bean and nutmeg. Lightly effervescent on the palate, this wine offers flavors of peach, green apple, vanilla and brioche that coalesce in a vivid finish.

Winemaker Notes:

Very pale brilliant yellow with regular lines of bubbles rising to form a crown. Very pleasant initial sensation with fine, light aromas and secondary aromas redolent of ageing in the bottle with hints of fruits and floral shades. A Brut which sits exquisitely on the palate, fully and creamy, yet dry and fresh at the same time, with a well-balanced acidity and an elegant, fruity and long finish. Well balanced, with an agreeable after-taste and good presence.

Winemaker Description

Pares Balta Cava Pink is smooth, refreshing and very graceful on the palate, packed with ripe, red berry fruit and balanced by a crisp, fresh acidity. Ideal for helping you to enjoy the summer sunshine. Or a rainy Tuesday evening!

Made using the traditional method developed in Champagne, this terrific Parés Baltà Pink Cava is quite stunning, and it is by far the best rosé Cava we've tasted for the price. This modern blend sees the traditional Xarel.lo component of white Cava replaced by 38% Garnatxa, alongside the 32% Parellada and 30% Macabeu.

Grape Variety: Garnatxa, Parellada, Macabeo/Viura

Redcurrant color with a very good sparkling crown of bubbles. On the nose aroma of red fruit with a light floral notes. In the mouth it is appetizing and fresh with hints of redcurrant and raspberry. Long, sweet and pleasant finish. Serving temperature: 8 – 10°

Our Professional Review

Oscar Garcia Moncada 67Wine.com | Cava Rovellats is surely one of my favorite Cava producers in Penedes. Aromas of green apples, fresh baked bread, and citrus fruit undertones. Medium-bodied with a very elegant mouthfeel. Bubbles are tiny and champagne like, a wonderful cava that reminds you of Champagne without having to pay champagne prices.

Winemaker Description

Color is a bright yellow straw. Bubble abundant and small, with good vertical and regular detachment. Intense and clean aroma with a fruity background. Very tasty with elegant step in the mouth thanks to a achieved balance.

Spicy nose with hints of black pepper and scrubland. Licorice, plum, tobacco. On the palate, red plum, cherry, friendly, fresh, very long.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Syrah and Petit Verdot

The province of Malaga in Andalusia, known mainly for its sweet wines such as Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, also grows red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, although to a lesser extent compared to other wine regions. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description

Very aromatic, fruity notes stand out over the wood ones. We perceive black fruits such as blackberries and plums alongside with spiced notes, obtained during its time in oak barrels, that bestow elegance. Roasted notes appear gradually as well.  The wine has a great structure and body. It is well-balance and velvety on the mouth. It has a pleasant and long lasting finish.

18 months in French oak barrels. The wine is then finely-tuned in the bottle for a period of six months. For the purpose of preserving every characteristic of the wine, before being bottled, the wine goes through a clarification and stabilization process, followed by a filtration process. Nevertheless, over time, due to the use of very gentle techniques, some natural sediments might appear. 

Our Professional Review

Oscar Garcia Moncada 67Wine.com | 20-35 year old vines. Certified Organic and Vegan; 100 % Tempranillo entirely aged in concrete vats. Not filtered but lightly clarified. Notes of red berries on the nose with an enticing mouth-feel. Red currant, juicy blackberry. Medium-bodied with crisp and enticing finish.

Winemaker Description 

The Flying Bicycle" is Germán Blanco's new project in Rioja Baja. With the help of an old friend and fellow oenologist, Javier Collio, Germán sources fruit from certified organic vineyards in the Navarra part of the appellation. The vineyards are dry-farmed and have an average age of thirty-five years old, grown in a mix of clay and limestone. The wine is made in a cellar in San Adrian, following the Milú philosophy: "happy wines made from happy grapes" is how he defines it. The grapes are de-stemmed and fermented in cold temperature from native yeasts. A slight maceration before the end of fermentation helps to make a delicate and fresh wine; no oak is used, and the wine stays in concrete tanks from five to six months.

Winemaker Description

Chansélus is a unique, minuscule production red (112 cases total!!!) from the prestigious Ribeiro D.O. which is more known for its world-class whites. Bernardo Estevez makes this field blend of Brancellao, Souson, Caino da Terra, Carabuneira, Trincadeira, Ferrol, Tinta Amarela, Caino Bravo, Caino Longo, Mencia, etc... from the 3 hectares of vines that he owns in 5 different sub-regions. 

He manages his vineyards personally following organic and biodynamic practices as laid out by Masanobu Fukuoka and he even brews his own natural treatments in his kitchen.

The wine is herbaceous and balanced with crisp acid, moderate tannins, fresh wild berry flavors and pronounced minerality from the sandy, granitic soils of Ribeiro. Pairs wonderfully with Galician pork sausages, smoked ham or sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenees to the North.

Expert Review

Robert Parker 91 Points Luis Gutiérrez writes | The eponymous red 2021 Orto is fruit-driven, juicy and with sweet tannins, easy to drink and very pleasant. It's a blend of 56% Carinyena, 29% Garnatxa Tinta, 9% Ull de Llebre Tempranillo) and 6% Picapoll Tinto with 13% alcohol. It matured in well-seasoned and neutral French barriques for six months. 9,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in the summer of 2021.  Drinking 2022 - 2026. (2021).

Winemaker Description

Intense color with purple reflections. The aromas of violets and Mediterranean herbs complement the delicate notes of chocolate and toast from the subtle aging.

Elegant on the palate, with fresh notes that combine with round and sweet tannins. In perfect balance with natural acidity, it is a pleasant and long-lasting finish.

An organic xarel·lo wine with minimum intervention.
 
From the flagship variety of the Penedès, the xarel-lo, comes this organic single-varietal wine. Calcari brings together the purest and most sincere expression of this ancestral variety, native to our territory and strongly rooted in our winemaking tradition.

Its characteristics give it great versatility, making it a variety suitable for the production of long-aged sparkling wines or wines with minimal intervention such as Calcari, a wine that allows us to see its great expressive capacity and its mineral characte. 

Wine Advocate 95 Points  | Juan António Ponce compared the white 2021 Reto with the 2013 and 2018, to him the best vintage of this wine so far. It was produced with the local Albilla grape, not to be confused with the Albillo from other regions, a grape that can transmit an incredible sense of freshness in a warm place like Manchuela. They now have new vineyards that they planted in the village of Villanueva de la Jara that ripen up to 15 days later and deliver vibrant wines with a more pungent saline sensation and an electric mouthfeel. This 12.5% alcohol wine has a pH of 3.15 and 6.2 grams of acidity (measured in tartaric acid per liter of wine). This is sharp and austere, mineral and electric when young, with an intense salinity and a vibrant and electric finish. Unbelievable for the price. With the experience of previous vintages, this should develop tremendously in bottle. 

Reto has a lovely expression of lemon, pineapple, and lychee, with hints of passion fruit in the background. Lively, fruity, and elegant structure, with notes of tropical fruits, perfectly balanced by citrus and a lovely acidity in the finish. Winemaker Description. 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | This has lots of range, with ginger, date, toasted almond, blood orange, singed sandalwood and green tea notes all allied to finely beaded acidity, letting everything drape beautifully on the finish. Alluring on its own, but this really begs for some Cabrales. Drink now.Wine Advocate 91 points The NV Almacenista Jose Luis Gonzalez Obregon Oloroso del Puerto produced from Palomino grapes and aged in Puerto de Santa Maria by the sea, has a chestnut color with a green-amber edge, clean sweet notes of roasted nuts, cake and oranges, a medium- to full-bodied palate with a smoky character and great length.

Tawny gold colour, this elegant and classic Amontillado is pungent and aromatic, with oaky notes. Nutty on the palate with a hint of sweetness and a lingering dry finish. Winemaker Description. 

Valdespino Moscatel 'Promesa', is a heavy sherry. Light mahogany color with amber tones. A flowery smell with honey and a beetje citrus. The smaak is fris en zacht. It's a perfect balance with a ripple and a fresh fruity surface. Producer Description. 

Our Professional Review

Oscar Garcia Lead Wine Sommelier 67Wine.com | Castellroig is part of the prestigious Corpinnat designation that is meant to oversee the quality of grower in the Penedes region of Catalonia. Castellroig is also one of very few producers in the region that is 100% Estate owned.  Their philosophy for producing some of the region's best sparkling wines centers on the typicity of their terroirs of their various estates.  Varietal singularity is another part of their winemaking tradition.

Winemaker Description

Castellroig Brut Nature Reserva is an examplary wine of what corpinnat is seeking to achieve: A clear distinction from the mass-produced, low quality sparkling wines of the region. 

Aromas of green apples, with some herbal nuances: lemon-thyme and sage. Further aromas of lime peel and ripe oranges.  Medium-bodied with fine bubbles and persistent palate sensation. The finish is clean and refreshingly dry.  I highly recommend this Sparkling wine for its value and superb craft. 

A refreshing and rewarding traditional organic premium Catalan sparkling and a big step up from a lot of Cava.

A small group of producers from the traditional heartlands of Cava country, Penedes, left the Cava DO a few years ago as they felt it didn't reward or represent the quality wines they were producing with native grape varieties, and so formed Corpinnat - a new brand under which to market superior quality Catalan sparkling wines. Sabate I Coca's Castellroig Reserva comes from around 40 plots of Xarel-Lo, Macabeo and Parellada grapes that are grown to organic principles and vinified separately before blending and then undergoing the traditional sparkling wine method, like Champagne.

Lovely floral aromas of jasmine, white flowers, green apple and citrus, along with something a bit richer, lead onto a fresh and persistent palate with ripe citrus, orchard fruit and a fresh, dry minerality on the finish. Excellent value for money.

Great as an aperitif but would also work oysters and shellfish, white fish, and salads.   

Winemaker Description

This wine has dark savory fruit with notes of bay, thyme and leather. Firmer structured and chalky on the palate. In typical Bodegas Ponce fashion, La Casilla manages to express the inherent power and structure of Bobal and it's native Manchuela, but goes so with the sort of grace and style that re-calls Cru Beaujolais