Every spring and summer we taste through literally thousands of Spanish wines for the International Wine Cellar’s annual coverage of this most varied of wine-producing countries. We routinely find world-class versions of everything from bone-dry sparkling wines to exotic fortified wines that are still made according to centuries-old techniques. As impressive as the great wines of Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat can be—not to mention those from Spain’s cool northwestern regions and the country’s matchless Sherries—the wines that most often deliver the most pleasant surprises for us are outrageously delicious and exuberantly fruity garnachas (grenache in France and most of the rest of the world) as well as some made from monastrell (a.k.a. mourvèdre), both of which are widely produced in the hot and arid south and southeast of Spain.
These regions are home to some of Europe’s oldest vines, and the dry climate ensures that most vine maladies that affect the damper growing areas of the continent have no chance of survival here. So these vineyards had been able to chug along virtually care-free, producing deeply concentrated fruit and opulent wines with the sort of fruit intensity that most wine-producing areas can only dream of. Very few of these wines are made with much in the way of oak so their fruit is unadorned and straightforward and the tannic influence of wooden casks is practically non-existent. Best yet: in almost every case these wines are delicious on release too.
What gives garnacha its visceral appeal is its combination of intense red and dark berry flavors coupled with relatively low acidity and moderate to very low tannin levels, which yields round, velvety wines that are easy to drink young. Many vineyards in regions like Campo de Borja, Yecla and Jumilla are huge, and the price of land in these often desolate areas is dirt cheap compared to the fancier Rioja and Ribera del Duero vineyards up north, which are closer to Spain’s population centers.
For generations most of the wine from places like Yecla and Jumilla were made with little care and were sold in bulk, to be blended away into anonymous, innocuous, cheap table wines, or simply distilled. Thanks to the efforts of a few serious producers in the early 1990s, who recognized the potential for quality here, as well as to the hard work of some progressive importers, cleaner and fresher wines began to be bottled to appeal to wine-lovers with little tolerance for overly rustic wines. The response in the U.S. was immediate and resoundingly positive, and today the American wine consumer can walk into a shop pretty much anywhere and grab a bottle of clean, fruity Spanish wine that way over-delivers for its price. Frankly, I can’t think of a single country in the world that offers greater red wine value than Spain—and it’s hard to imagine even a close second.
A handful of producers can be counted on to offer outstanding bang for the buck consistently. It is no exaggeration to say that some of their wines put to shame examples from swankier regions that cost up to ten times as much. In our most recent Spain coverage in the IWC, those wines that especially stood out for value would include the 2008 Bodegas Olivares Alto de la Joya Ungrafted Old Vines Jumilla ($13; The Rare Wine Co.), a blend of 92% monastrell and 8% garnacha. Vintage after vintage, this wine stands out for its intense, complex bouquet and deep dark fruit character. Incidentally, many of the vines used to produce this wine were planted in 1872! Also worth looking for is the same producer’s 2008 Bodegas Olivares Tinto Jumilla ($10). This blend of 75% monastrell, 15% garnacha and 10% syrah is a step behind its sibling in richness and complexity, but represents outstanding value as well.
For the better part of the last decade we’ve been impressed by the wines of Bodegas Borsao, whose wines range in price from $6 to $17 and are frequently among the very best red wine values available anywhere. Virtually all of these bottlings are worth buying in quantity, as they work especially well for large gatherings, pulling off the neat trick of appealing to those who just want to drink a tasty wine while also delivering serious quality and complexity for those who actually smell and taste what they put in their mouths. Look for the 2008 Bodegas Borsao Viña Borgia Campo de Borja ($6; Fine Estates from Spain), the 2008 Bodegas Borsao Monte Oton Campo de Borja ($7) and the 2008 Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja ($8) if you want to be amazed at how far your wine dollar can go. The first two wines are made entirely from garnacha and the third is 80% garnacha and 20% tempranillo, the latter grape adding a degree of complexity and spiciness to the garnacha’s extroverted dark fruit character.
Finally, the 2008 Bodegas Artazu Garnacha Navarra ($12; European Cellars) hails from cooler northeast Spain, where garnacha usually plays backup to tempranillo, especially in Rioja, but at its best can offer a sexy, perfumed appeal that in this case is eerily reminiscent of pinot noir. I have a hard time even thinking of a more lively and juicy red wine at this price, much less finding one in the marketplace.
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