

You've heard it before but we are saying it again, Spain offers some of the most fascinating and diverse drinking on the planet. Home to more than a million acres of vine and an industry that is a constant state of flux, renewal and revival, Spain today produces an incredibly exciting array of wines in a multitude of styles. Today, we are spoiled for choice with a plethora of established and respected producers on the scene while the next-gen winemakers are making themselves heard in all the right ways.
While Portugal is relatively new to the scene as far as still wine is concerned the groundwork that Spain has laid has seen the keen uptake and surge in interest from this beguiling wine region. Exploring Portugal and its somewhat unfamiliar but compelling range of varieties and styles has sparked the interest of many intrepid wine lovers including ourselves.
This pack is the perfect way to explore all that both these countries have to offer the vinous world. Of course, this is only a drop in the ocean but it's a great place to start with a little bit of something from all over this incredible region.
Muros Antigos Vinho Verde 2021


The 2021 Muros Antigos Escolha is a blend of 40% Loureiro, 40% Avesso and 20% Alvarinho, unoaked and coming in at 12.3% alcohol, plus something less than 1.5 grams of residual sugar and 6.8 grams of total acidity. A lovely blend and another fine value this year, this is bright and fresh but also surprisingly persistent without harshness. It is perfectly balanced. The Loureiro is asserting itself nicely in flavors and aromatics, making this blend extra appealing. It is very expressive, even as only a component in the blend. There is certainly reasonable concentration, but this is less about concentration than the crisp and fruity finish. To be sure, it is not terribly energetic this year, but it is harmonious and impossible to resist. It should hold a reasonable time, perhaps longer than indicated, but there is no reason to wait. MARK SQUIIRES, The Wine Advocate
Gonzalez Byass Elegante Fino 750ml


The Gonzalez family are five generations along in Jerez establishing this benchmark estate in 1835 when the pioneering 23 year old Manuel Maria Gonzalez left his banking career for more noble pursuits.
The Elegante is a young Fino aged for 3 years in American oak casks following the traditional Solera system. A pitch perfect Fino with delicate white florals, stacked in with fresh pear, green apple, and salt-spray. Clean and pristine on the palate with hints of golden roasted nuts, oyster shell and sea water. Great stuff of the money.
Telmo Rodriguez 'Basa' Verdejo 2022


Basa is based on organically-grown 40 year-old bush-vines grown at 750 metres altitude, and cropped at about 1kg/vine. Basa is all about perfectly balanced sugar/acid/tannin in the berry which is then carefully nurtured into balanced wine, with no additions in the winery (save for a small amount of necessary sulphur at bottling). Basa is a not-so-fruity Rueda Verdejo with 20% Viura in the mix finessing extra palate nerve. Basa is fermented in a mix of large wooden vats, concrete and stainless steel tanks.
Now without any Sauvignon, this gorgeous dry-grown Verdejo is blended with a little of floral Viura to lighten and lift. Basa is lovely, uncomplicated, and texturally pleasing. Basa smells of feijoa and fresh-cut pear with the faintest tropical wash and a gentle green herb tuck. The palate is mid-weight and of good length with a great mix of fruit flesh, earth and gently nutty tannin running out on natural acid. Textured without overt fructose, it’s savoury, with minerality and good length, and perfectly blends richness and line.
Conde de Valdemar Rioja Blanco 2022


A bright Rioja with aromas of white lavender, fresh apricots, sandalwood and citrus rind. It’s medium-bodied with lovely freshness of fruit. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING
The Conde de Valdemar wines are the best of modern and classic approaches combined. They have loads of fruit packed with up-front flavour yet remain fresh and vibrant, true to form with winemaking playing a storng but supportive role. They are just ultuimately very drinkable and extremely enjoyable Spanish fair and we are hooked!
Petit Pittacum Mencia 2022


We have been enamoured with the mencia based wines of Spaces northwest since first we tried them. Their beautiful lifted nose spiked with mineral accents that flowed onto graceful pallets raked with fine granit like tannins an earthy savouryness at the edges. They are something akin to cru Beaujolias crossed with the finest reds of the loire and we just cant get enough.
Bodegas Pittacum is owned by the Terras Gauda operation and is situated in Argaza in the heart of Bierzo and made from grape sourced from small plots of organically grown 90 year old vines grown in clay soils on steep slopes.
Glace fruits with crème de mure and raspberry coulis flecked with granitic mineral shards. Mid weight styling come from slippery red fruits and a gentle burst of freshness that comes not from acidity but from a deep mineral vein soaked up from the long roots and rocky slopes. Its like a bowl of mixed berry smashed onto rock and is absolutely delightful. If you have not had the wines of the region or mencia this is a belter of an introduction.
Abeica Rioja Rosado 2022


Essentially, these are cold soil wines, from shallow, low nutrient limestone/sandstone enriched by a little clay. Sweet and sour, or agrodulce is a common thread. The wines ripple with acidic energy and feature the soft smell of sandstone. Fruit teas - think Russian Caravan and Bergamot are common flavour metaphors.
Sangrado de Garnacha fermented in inox after 12 hours of soaking and then rested 3 months on lees in stainless, 32.5 pH. The fruit comes from parcelas in villages of the northern foothills, Ábalos included.
The soils reflect in the cold juniper and cold clay dirt on the nose, with faded strawberry, waxflower, pistachio and dusty sandstone. The palate features intense white cherry and cape gooseberry, is soft, earthy and savoury with enough fruit brightness to march along in the mouth. Excellent, gentle acid definition.
Mesta Garnacha 2022


Fontana Bodegas & Viñedos is a leading producer of Estate wines, owning over 600 hectares, and managing a further 400 hectares of sustainably farmed, high-altitude vineyards in Castile, Central Spain.
Jesús Cantarero, the current owner, has now brought together a highly experienced, eclectic, multi-national team of wine professionals, including Sam Harrop MW, who produce authentic, contemporary wines of great purity and freshness.
Care Red Blend 2022


Located in the heart of the Cariñena Denomination of Origin, one of the historical and emerging areas of Aragon in North-Eastern Spain, 100% of Bodegas Care's wines come from our own vineyards.
This 'Trio" is a blend of Garnacha, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon and is bursting with bright cherries, raspberries & blackberries. The wine exhibits concentration and smoothness typical of the region. A wine with a fresh Face.
Beloki Tinto Rioja Crianza 2019


Beloki is the utmost expression of modern Rioja, respecting ancient traditions. This 100% Tempranillo is sourced from high altitude vineyards in Rioja Alavesa and aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels. It has intense aromas of ripe fruits with notes of tobacco and red berries combined with vanilla and spices. With a red fruit background, smooth tannins and great palate weight.
This opens with primary dark berry and cherry aromas slowly ticking along picking up spicy nuance as you swirl it around in the glass. Very inviting and open styling here with the ripe fruits deatiled with flourished of sweet vanillan oak that never overpower but add interest. Plush, on the palate and it delivers wahy you expect and more with blackberry, a hint of black currant and cherry flavors with plenty of depth and a touch of that spice and oak pm the finih. This doesmnt shy away from tempranillos tannin and thak goodness beacause they add shape to and lovely buoyancy to the wine. A smooth finish with lush fruits and gentle woodsy notes that fade in and fade out as you drink this in. Belter little Rioja here.
Avaniel Tinto Ribera del Duero 2022


Bodegas Monteabellón is located in the heart of the Ribera del Duero with 52 hectares of vineyards (mainly Tempranillo) around the township of Nava de Roa. Isaac Fernandez, nephew of the legendary Vega Sicilia ex- winemaker, Marino Garcia, is the inspiration behind this relatively new venture.
The production at the winery is a thoroughly modern affair that draws on nearly 140 hectares of vineyards. The plots are spread over the Ribera, Rioja and Rueda with the mainstay wines those from their excellent Ribera holdings. Avaniel is made from grapes from one or the freshest young plots called "Los Miles". It is also one of the youngest vineyard with vines within 6 and 10 years.
This is the crunchiest version of this we have seen in a while and its all the better for it. It's still Ribera del Duero all the way but just done with a little extra skip in its step. A little black raspberry and a morello cherry to the fore that gives way to some subtle inky earthy elements that speaks of its rocky home on the Duero River. Really silky fruits this vintage with all the elements tightly woven together while still delivering a generous and plush palate. Some fine crunchy tannins scream for a bit of jamon or grilled meats.
Flor de Crasto Tinto 2021


Youthful and pretty nose of flowers, raspberries and fresh plums. Medium-bodied, fresh and juicy, with easy tannins and a simple finish. Tinta roriz, touriga franca and touriga nacional. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING
Casa da Passarella A Descoberta Dao Tinto 2020


Made in stone lagars and aged in cement tanks along with some large old wooden vats, it's a very typical Dão blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (elsewhere, Tempranillo), Alfrocheiro and Jaen (aka Mencia).
A Descoberta means 'to be discovered' and the somewhat mystical label, a box tagged 1942 is a folkloric reference to an early version of a time capsule a box hidden in the stone walls of the house of Passarella containing a will to be opened 50 years hence and directing the riches of the box be re-distributed to the poor. The box was empty. Enrichment comes from the intangible not the material, it seems ...
A lovely wine supple, fleshy and spicy, with extra delicate tannin and oak. From lead-off, the cherry-chocolate fruit really shows the Dao granite, and is laden with wiry dark herbs. In the mouth, it's fleshy-meaty and mineral fresh - round with good movement and fruit-earth interplay. It has excellent presence in the mouth but is not reliant on weight for the show. Wonderfully composed, it sits and radiates, effortless in affect. Gorgeous delicate tannin is the frame, rimming the mouth and allowing the fruit and spicy acid to radiate delicately. A wonderful advertisement for varietal blends.