Spanish

It's hard to make Garnacha Blanca with verve, freshness and minerality, but Anna Espelt does just that here with 20% Garnacha Gris and vines near the Catalonian coast. Subtle stone fruit and citrus notes are cloaked in notes... Read More

Organic/Bio From Anna Espelt's granite-soiled Catalunya vineyard surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on three sides, this is Garnacha with layers and a satisfyingly chunky feel. The dark red fruit and fresh herb/garrigue complexity... Read More

Bideona's Mayela wine reinterprets Rioja Alavesa's cosechero (grower) wine tradition to allow the character of Alavesa Tempranillo to shine through. Traditionally, grapes from multiple cosechero were tossed into a vat... Read More

Lower ABV Master of Wine Andreas Kubach and his partners tend their 300 small parcels of old-vines in the Basque highlands of Rioja Alavesa with a simple goal: to capture the character of the region, villages in the region, and... Read More

Master of Wine Andreas Kubach and his partners tend their 300 small parcels of old-vine Tempranillo in the Basque highlands of Rioja Alavesa with a simple goal: to capture the character of the region, villages in the region, and... Read More

Robert Parker called the 2011 edition of this perennial favorite value red, “Possibly the single greatest dry red wine value in the world.” As usual, it’s a blend of around 85% Garnacha plus Tempranillo and a... Read More

You'd expect Toro Tempranillo to be dark, super-ripe, and full of chewy tannins, but here Toro has been tamed a bit! Plenty of rich fruit that stays fresh and an easy, silky, texture that flows nicely. As Wine Enthusiast says,... Read More

From 25 year-old Tempranillo vines nearly 1,000 feet above sea level, this is luxurious and fresh gem was named one of the top 5 wines of Spain by Wine Spectator in 2023. The Wine Enthusiast 96 point review captures it nicely:... Read More

Lower ABV Juan Antonio Ponce completely fractures any expectations you have for wine made from Bobal (often a dark, dusky, earthy, grape) from Manchuela (blisteringly hot). This is from 40-60 year-old vines, made with 100% whole... Read More

One of the greatest wood Sherry's we've ever tasted, this is what happens when the flor on Amontillado dies early and lets the wine darken to Oloroso levels - and then gets aged for 30 years in American oak cask. A lovely... Read More

The winery describes this as “Freshness, joy and youth in your glass of wine,” and that pretty much sums up this wine. Perfect for weeknights when you want to enjoy a bottle over a couple of nights. The vibrancy is... Read More

This isn’t fancy pants Rioja, but one whiff and you’ll be glad you took it home. Fragrant red fruit with a piercing freshness is consistent throughout your sipping journey. Not too big and not too lean, this sits right... Read More

Cuatro Rayas was founded in 1935 to do one thing - make terrific Verdejo. Back in the beginning, that meant a wine that would seem really...let's say exotic...to us, a white wine aged in glass demijohns in the hot Spanish... Read More

Organic/Bio From the Reventos Cava family, this is a 50/50 blend of Garnacha and the almost extinct Sumoll grape done mostly in concrete and with minimal sulfur. Vinous's 93 point review gives you a great idea of what to expect:... Read More

A wildly complex, not too sweet, and deserving of being sipped solo – or with a splash of soda – on the rocks Vermut from Tera Alta in Catalonia. It’s Macabeau base wine, darkened with dried green walnuts and... Read More

Classic Priorat fruit and minerality here delivered in a ready to drink style. It's a blend of Garnacha, Cariñena and Syrah grown on the rocky slate hills inland from Barcelona and shows real power to the black and... Read More

The most immediately ready to drink Priorat from this great estate still has plenty of character and depth. As Wine Advocate says in the 91 point review, The red 2023 Serras del Priorat was produced with a blend of Garnacha, Cariñena... Read More

From a 0.7-hectare plot of ungrafted vines planted some 70 years ago. Fermented with 100% full clusters in oak vat with indigenous yeasts, with a very soft vinification and extra long maceration, more like an infusion. This is... Read More

From one of Rioja’s great historic estates, this blend of Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha aged 24 months in French and American oak. As Suckling says in the 95 point review, A precise, layered nose that... Read More

A long-time Rioja classic, the Cune Crianza adds a lovely depth of ripe fruit to Rioja’s classic notes of tobacco, herb, and spice. Lovely with lamb or even solo. As James Suckling says in the 90 point review, A fruity and... Read More

766 bottles (63 cases) made. “Quasi Centenaria” roughly translates to “about 100 years old,” a reference to this gnarly old Carignan vineyard planted right around 1919. The vines grow on two steep, rock-covered,... Read More

Organic/Bio The four friends who started Envinate (“wine yourself”) expand beyond their Canary Islands roots to create this 70% Garnacha Tintorera (aka Alicante Bouschet) and 30% Moravia Agria organically grown at... Read More

A Catalonian Vermouth that packs a HUGE punch of Christmas flavors! It's made from white grapes and 19 botanicals, including vanilla, orange peel, anise, cardamon, nutmeg, laurel, oregano, fennel, and sage. It's sweet,... Read More

Organic/Bio When everyone else in Rueda was planting crummy grapes to replace those devastated by phylloxera, the farmers at what is now this outstanding Rueda winery just kept tending their vines in the cool, sandy, soils between... Read More

Organic/Bio It's probably easiest to think of this as a cross between sweet Olorosso and 20 year tawny Port, but it’s even more than that. Sierra Morena wines were sold as Sherry until the 20th Century and this is very... Read More

Another lovely vintage from the newest wine in Guimaro's Ribeira Sacra portfolio.

Organic/Bio Lower ABV It's hard to believe how much delicious flavor can be packed into a wine of so little pretension - and so little alcohol (just 12.5%)! The main grape here is Mencia, although a half-dozen other varieties... Read More

Organic/Bio As Vinous wrote a few years ago, this is one of the top estates in Tarragona, up there with the big players in Montsant and Priorat...At the entry level, the quality here is astonishing. I’ve often found myself... Read More

As Wine Advocate explains, Emilio Hidalgo founded his bodega in the center of Jerez in 1874, where it is still managed by the fifth generation of the family. They have an impressive range of wines, with some of the original soleras... Read More

Classic Palo Cortado (like this!) starts off life as a Fino or Manzanilla, but begins to age oxidatively after the flor dies off. The official description is a Sherry with the aromas of Amontillado and body of Oloroso, and that's... Read More

Lower ABV In Spain’s Basque region, the Hondarrabi Zuri grape gives a tart and salty wine enlivened by a touch of spritz leftover from fermentation and time resting on the lees. This is a great example, with crunchy peach,... Read More

Lower ABV From Valencia, this is a playful Spanish red that leads with ripe Garnacha (80%) fruit balanced by a touch of savory complexity from Syrah (20%). It’s done with 50% whole clusters, which add some herbal notes and... Read More

A terrific, all-season, cookout and casual meal red at a great value price. This is 100% Tempranillo from the famed vineyards of Ribera del Duero (think Pesquera, Vega Sicilia, etc.). Ripe fruit grown at altitude (3,000 feet)... Read More

Lower ABV Terrific Albarino here – crisp, mineral, tangy, salty and mouthwateringly long. The pergola-trained vines are just off the Atlantic coast on granite soils, both amping up the minerality and salty refreshment. The... Read More

Lower ABV Age has a powerful influence on wine. Here there’s a bit of bottle age and a lot of vine-age from 90 year-old Albarino growing in sandy granite soils near the Atlantic. There’s a richness to the stone fruit... Read More

As always, one of the most beautiful of "traditional" Riojas!

A beautiful Manzanilla from Ramiro Ibañez and Willy Pérez, who are 20 years into a project to restore classic Sherry styles and (literally) write the book on Sherry's past. Production is tiny, with just 125cs... Read More

Organic/BioThe name of the winery here is actually Vins El Cep, meaning roughly Wines from the vineyard. Unlike most Cava producrers, Maite Esteve only works with grapes she grows herself - here a blend of 50%Xarel·Lo,... Read More

As the Advocate says in the 92+ point review, Vineyards that range from 40 to 65 years of age and are planted at around 750 meters in altitude on sandy granite soils with lots of silt. There is a high-pitched herbal note here... Read More

Tempranillo can do lots of things and here it’s all about easy drinking summer fun. Picked fully ripe and done all in concrete, it’s brimming with bright cherry and juicy cranberry fruit but avoids “fruitiness”... Read More

White Tempranillo was just discovered in an old vineyard around 30 years ago, and it's still fairly rare in Rioja and more rare still bottled all by itself. But delicious! This is all tank for freshness, showing lovely apricot,... Read More

Bierzo remains one of Spain’s most exciting regions and Mencia here delivers a perfect mix of ripe fruit and herbal complexity. This no-oak, super fresh, bottling is, as Wine Advocate says in the 92 point review, “among... Read More

Vermouth Perucchi has been made in Catalonia since 1886 – but only recently imported into the United States. We think it is a delicious, new (to us) treat at a very fair price!

Perruchi shows bold spice aromas of fresh gingerbread,... Read More

Having created Pingus - the great estate of Ribera del Duero and one of the greats in the world - Peter Sisseck created Psi to explore the region's soul and, especially, the unrealized potential of many of its great vineyards.... Read More

Lower ABV As JancisRobinson.com said of the 2023, For me, exactly what a well-made Albariño is supposed to taste like. Which is to say, kind of like Chablis but from Galicia! It's super pithy and crisp with a core of... Read More