DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR SPANISH WINES ?

While the DNA of our company is French and many of you know us for our French portfolio, we also represent wineries from Spain!

Our portfolio of Spanish wines covers the whole country, and we recently had the chance to go visit our producers.

It is fair to say that we tasted outstanding wines.

Spain, with its many young producers who focus on terroir and freshness, is part of new wave and we'd like to present it to you today.

Let's start our tour of Spain, and don’t forget to check out our upcoming Instagram posts!

BODEGA MENGOBA : STARRING GREGORY PEREZ

Gregory Perez is a French winemaker (we‘re not giving up our French roots too fast!) who settled in Bierzo. He started by working at Grand Puy Lacoste and Cos d‘Estournel before arriving in Spain.

Gregory is part of the new generation of young and dynamic producers, who focus on terroir and are committed to producing wines with minimal impact.

Bierzo is certainly one of the most dynamic regions of Spain, and Gregory is considered as one of the leaders of the region. With clean and bright wines, guided by freshness (thanks to the altitude and the clay and slate terroirs of the region), Gregory started by reshaping the vineyard (many of the plots were long abandoned), and has brought back the native grapes in his vineyard, such as Godello, Estaladina, Mencia, or Alicante Bouschet (local Garnacha Tinto).

Las Botas, his white wine 100% Godello, is made in a Burgundy-style, showing tension and structure in the mouth ; one to that stuck in our mind !

HACIENDA LAS CAÑAS : VOLCANIC SOIL FROM TENERIFE

Hacienda Las Cañas is in the same dynamic group as Gregory Perez, working to show the best of Canary Islands wines.

In appellation Valle de la Orotavo, located North of the Tenerife Island, Hacienda Las Cañas is an exclusive label made for us by the family bodega Suertes del Marques!

This is the only Canary Island wine in our Spanish book : indigenous yeasts, natural process, native grapes. The 11-ha vineyard is composed of centenary ungrafted vine stocks of black and white Listan. Growned in “cordon multiple”, training method that is unique in the world, listan grapes coexist with other native varieties from young and old vines like Vijariego Negro, Baboso Negro, Castellana Negra, Malvasia Rosada or Volcanic Torrontés, growned in Cordon Royat, Trenzado or Bush system.

We release a red and a white wine and we highly recommend getting a sample of it !

CLASSIC RIOJA : BODEGA ZUAZO GASTON

Rioja is the largest appellation in Spain, and so the wines can come in many different styles, due the large mosaic of terroirs found in this region.

Bodega Zuazo Gaston is located a little North of Logrono, capital of the Rioja. With over 100 years of history and experience, the family bodega creates Rioja wines in a style that we could consider as “classic Rioja“ : the majority of the vineyard is composed of old vines on a great terroir planted with Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo.

We offer 4 wines under their label Finca La Nina.

All the wines are awarded by Decanter (90+ points) and deliver what we expect from Rioja with a typical packaging of the region, and are very approachable in terms of pricing.

Let us know if you want samples of this great value Rioja producer!

ATYPICAL RIOJA : BODEGA EXOPTO

In another style, Bodegas Exopto could be considered as an atypical producer from the region. The bodega was founded in 2003 by Tom Puyaubert, former salesperson who establish the distribution of the Saury barrels in Rioja,

His philosophy is to work with minimal intervention at every stage of the winemaking, being organic but without certification. Because he is located in the heights of the Rioja, mainly in the Alavesa but also few vineyards in the Alta area, the climate and the terroirs are the keys to produce these unexpected Rioja!

Coolness, wind and clay-limestone soil gives a structure and a tension in the wines, that made us fell in love with the wines.

La Mimbrera, red wine, was the highlight of our tasting. 100% Graciano : so pure, fresh and vibrant. It’s like biting in a fresh but crispy red berry, great ageing potential! The tannins are soft and elegant, and the finish doesn’t disappoint.

Horizonte de Exopto blanco is our other favorite : a lot of aromatic with an incredible tension, smooth oakiness, a little body in the mouth, it just check all the aromas you can feel in your tongue. A must-taste !

NAVARRA : VINA ZORZAL & MATIAS MICHELLINI

Vina Zorzal was created in 1989 : with the unique characteristics of the area, the family Sanz is working with one of the oldest vineyards known in Navarra, a 115 years old Garnache plot that survived phylloxera! The winery, lead by 3 brothers, is working on 70 hectares and 10 different villages.

Mikel Sanz, 2nd generation, made his first vintage in 2007 : he wants Navarra to be perceived differently, and that sommeliers think of the region as the place of Garnacha. Navarra has been for a long time perceived as region of mass production, due to all the grape from Bordeaux planted in the region to imitate the French. The Sanz family brought back native grapes in the region, especially the Garnacha.

Their specialty is to partner with renowned winemakers, such as Raul Perez in Spain, but also big names from other countries!

For us, they developed a label with Matias Michellini, which is one of the greatest winemakers in Argentina. His winery in his country is also called Zorzal, so the pair thought it would be funny to partner as Zorzal’s from two different countries !

Garnache by Matias Michellini is a red wine made in whole bunches, lots of ripe red fruits aromas and very well balanced. It is a great expression of the Garnache by two experienced winemakers !

RIBERA DEL DUERO WINNERS : BODEGAS BRIEGO

Bodegas Briego, in Fompedraza, is one of the best Ribera del Duero bodegas : the project was lead by the 3 Benito Hernando brothers, with the aim of restoring their father’s old vineyard.

With a style of wine showing the genuine characters of their terroirs, the brothers are dedicated to traditional winemaking, producing wines that are powerful and envelopped in the soft tannins of the ageing in oak barrels.

Every year, the Ribera del Duero appellation organize a blind tasting including all the bodegas from the area. Many years, Bodegas Briego end up in the finalists of the contest. It really is one of the emblematic bodegas from the area !

SMALL AMONG BIG : BODEGAS LAVEGUILLA

In an other style, Bodegas LaVeguilla is located in Oliveras de Duero : it is a privileged enclave in the heart of the region, nicknamed the “Mile de Oro” (Golden Mile). It is often considered as the most prestigious terroir of the region, due the sun exposure and the presence of the Duero River.

**The neighbors of LaVeguilla are Dominio de Pingus, Garmon and AAlto : they could be named as the small among the greatests. **

LaVeguilla was created in 1992 and operates 53 hectares mainly in Tempranillo : after fermentation, the winemaker will allow the wine to sit in the tank, taking the time to determine what type of oak to use for the ageing process. Whether it is new or used oak, French or American, the ageing is completely tailor-made depending on the aromatic profile of the vintage : the main goal remain the expression of this magnificent terroir of Mile de Oro!

YECLA : ANTONIO CANDELA'S JUICY WINES

Yecla is a small winemaking region near Alicante, in the South-East of Spain : it is the smallest DO of the Jumilla region, and with a continental climate, cold winters and almost no rain, it produces surprisingly fresh wines for such a Southern region of Spain.

Antonio Candela is one of the most renowned names of this region, with his winery Bodega Barahonda. The family has been making wine since 1850, and Antonio and Alfredo Candela are now the 4th generation in charge of the winery.

Dedicated to keep the legacy alive, the small estate was involved in the creation of the DO Yecla, along with other important personalities of local agriculture.

Definititely a winery to look at when it comes to Yecla !

Among their range, they produce a few inexpensive wines such as “Little Lady B” : 60% Monastrell and 40% Merlot, it is the perfect “I‘ll bring that bottle at home“! Pure juice, bright, easy-drinking, it really enters that category of chillable red wines, and will be a perfect BTG!

VINEREL-LES : TERRA ALTA’S MOST UNIQUE WINES

To finish this tour of Spain (which could go longer than that), we are going to finish in Terra Alta, with Bodegas Altavins and the Vinerel-Les range.

Bodegas Altavins is a small winery founded in 2001 by Joan Arrufi and Jordi Casado. The land where they grow their grapes is rich in silt and poor in organic matter, with a keen climate. High altitude, no rain, great sunlight and two specific winds from the region that can dry the vineyard and protect it from disease.

Vinerel-Les is a project focus on organic wines and on special terroirs : a collection of single-varietal wines, which consists of two white wines (a Garnacha Blanca and a Macabeo), two red wines (a Cariñena and a Garnacha Peluda) and a Brisado (from Garnacha Blanca).

They are wines “from unique estates and special productions.” The five have a total production of around 15,000 bottles. Joan Arrufí states that the name of this new project, which has been promoted “calmly, without rushing”, refers to a watercolor color palette (where water has been changed to wine).

Garnacha Peluda, “Hairy Garnacha”, is typical from the Terra Alta : 8 months ageing in 600L from Austria, very low sulfites, it shows notes of fresh forest fruits (raspberries, wild berries), very well balanced acidity and exquisite tannins !

An exquisite collection of wines, awarded by Decanter (between 91 and 96 points for the whole range)!