Navigating Spain: The key varietals
Although it is impossible to cover the breadth and complexity of The New Spain in six bottles, we have done our level best with the selection below. Key to the quality on offer is an exceptional and unique blend of altitude, old vines, rocky soils and exciting indigenous grape varieties, all combined with a small army of vignerons whose passion, work ethic and artisanal toolkit represent, to quote Luiz Gutierrez (The New Vignerons: A New Generation of Spanish Wine Growers), “Spanish wine’s present and future”. Every glass poured has the potential to profoundly change many a customer’s perceptions of Spanish wine.
Angel Rodríguez Martínsancho Rueda Verdejo 2018
Benchmark Verdejo from the grower who almost single-handedly rescued the great Verdejo grape from extinction – and received a medal for it! It’s a pulpy and textural high-grown white, with a bright, racy mouthfeel and the kind of palate-awakening precision that belies its modest price tag.
Bernabeleva Vinos de Madrid Camino de Navaherreros Blanco 2019
The rebooted whites of the Madrid mountains have opened our eyes and palates to one of Spanish wines' best-kept secrets: Albillo. In this blend, one-third Macabeo laces the full-bodied, mineral Albillo fruit with zesty, racy lift, gifting a unique wine of breadth and texture to work with roasted bird and rabbit dishes.
Valdesil Montenovo Blanco 2020
With their cadre of old vines and magnificent highland terroirs, this pioneering estate has become a gold-standard source for Godello, Galicia’s answer to Chardonnay. Fashioned from the Estate’s younger vine, spread across the slate ridden mountains of the Valdeorras, it’s fresh and textured with a saline-infused palate and a long, crunchy finish.
Valenciso Rioja Laderas de Cabama 2018
From one of Rioja’s new breed of vineyard-focussed producers, this pure Tempranillo is crafted from a single plot of 35-year-old vines rooted in the classic clay/limestone soils of the Rioja Alta. The Estate’s esteemed Rioja Reserva is always release with age, here Valenciso offers younger and more fruit-forward style: it’s vibrant and super-energetic Spanish red raised entirely without oak.
Terroir Sense Fronteres Montsant Negre 2019
Alongside its sibling, Priorat’s Terroir al Limit, this artisanal producer is one of those redefining what we thought possible from the ancient, rocky vineyards of Catalonia. Crafted by the talented Tatjana Peceric, this pure and silky blend of Garnacha and Cariñena is inspired by the releases of ‘Burgundy-like’ wines once made by the Scala Dei monastery. If you think you know Montsant—it is time to think again!
Mengoba Bierzo Brezo Mencía 2020
Gregory Perez arrived in the remote mountains of Bierzo in 2001 and twenty years of unfaltering work later, this forward-thinking grower has cemented his style: a lyrical and refined suite of high-country wines from the slate-rich hills of the Alto Bierzo. A case in points is the vibrant and perfumed Brezo Mencía, drawn from old lives dotted around the slate-rich hillsides of Valtuille and Villafranca del Bierzo. If you fancy a detour from Cru Beaujolais or Loire Cabernet Franc, this is an excellent port of call.