Spanish New Guard

A mix of high altitude vines and  unique terroir with poor lime and clay soils, united to extreme weather conditions and dry agriculture that provides low yields and high concentration in the fruit. Spends about 5 months in French oak.

Glace cherry and red fruits overlay a bed of black currant and blackberry fruits with a soft peppercorn spice and a touch of licorice. So vibrant and fresh that builds slowly with a mix of wild forest fruit and grilled herbs. Fine tannins cut the sweet fruit and a gentle kiss of oak gives it all a last little push on the long finish

Big fan of Jumilla Monastrell, there's great Monastrell made in Spain, with a ton of character. This particular Monastrell; concentrated with red and dark berries, balanced with a touch of chocolate and savoury components. Great wine and food pairing!  NICK CAPEL, PWS SYDNEY

The grapes are from 13 plots of Monastrell vineyards in La Raja (where the winery is located) between the mountain ranges of El Carche and La Pila. The vines range from 20 to 70 years old sitting at 800 metres, within the wine region D.O. Jumilla, in the south of Spain. Steel tank ferment with 5 months in small French oak.

Red licorice, pastille fruits, and a hint of charry savouriness and scorched earth layered in with sweet, heady spice. Black cherry, black raspberry fruit paint the palate then slowly melt away to reveal spice box and savory herbs then rushes back in with plum, blackberry compote, blueberrie, and blackcurrant that bring the finale to a luxurious finish that trails off with some dark chocolate, and tobacco.

There is a new and impressive red 2020 Barrio Pastores, a village wine produced with old Garnacha grafted on Rupestris du Lot roots. It is perfumed and floral with moderate alcohol (13.8%) and with a medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins and a dry, austere finish. It has impressive freshness and a pH of 3.2 with 6.5 grams of acidity. The production tried to replicate the wines from yesteryear, and they achieved a clean, fine, soft, perfumed and happy red through foot-trodden grapes and maturing in large oak vats for 10 months. Superb debut. 2,000 bottles were filled in August 2021. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

‘Aranzá’ is Rafa’s sub-vineyard name for a small portion he selects from Viña La Palma. La Palma itself is a small vineyard, 3 hectares of 60 year-old Palomino growing in Albariza tosca cerrada. The term ‘Aranzá’ is a short-hand for the local measure of land area, an Aranzáda – depending upon the colloquy involved (the measure is different in each town and possibly grower-to-grower!), it’s roughly a half hectare.

Pickled hay, buttery chalk and the cold steel smell of yesterday’s Tea Billy. Savoury, earthen, edged and filled with pickles and spice. Dandelion, a nice rim of diatom (blue oceanic fossil minerality), pickled cucumber, a sapid buzz in the cheeks and corners of the tongue. A round and savoury style, the cereal-inflected Palomino is mid-weight with an understated, lovely finish of bitters on the point of the tongue. Incredible volume and textural satisfaction at such low ABV.

The most impressive 2021 Motor Callet was produced with 70% Callet and 30% Fogoneu at only 12% alcohol and with mellow acidity and lovely fragility. This comes from younger vines (15 years old on average) on red soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in 225-liter tinajas and a brick vat, all built with red clay from Mallorca. It matured in the brick vat for some three months, and no sulfur was added to the wine at any point of its fermentation, élevage or bottling. It's young, perfumed, expressive and captivating, with intense floral aromas, great purity and elegance. The palate is light to medium-bodied with flavors of acid berries and a piquant finish. 10,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in March 2022. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

A bright, racy nose loaded with fruit, flowers, minerals and red cherries. Fine tannins unwind nicely with the fruit on the palate, with a medium body and a pretty long, precise finish. A co-fermentation from a co-planted vineyard over 60 years old in Abalos. 80% tempranillo, 10% garnacha tinto and 10% viura and other grapes, Half of the wine was aged in old concrete and the other half in used 500-liter oak barrels. Such a joy to drink now. ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

The 2022 Colección de Viñedos is a village red with 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Viura from four vineyards in Ábalos. It fermented in stainless steel with neutral yeasts. It feels a little like a carbonic-maceration red, but it fermented destemmed; it feels very young and primary, with a fruit-driven nose and a vinous palate, juicy and with very fine tannins and moderate acidity. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Balanced and supple, with notes of fresh plum, blackberry, tobacco leaf and liquorice. This is a juicy, fresh wine with bright acidity and a dry, chalky finish. DECANTER

Coleccion' is an assemblage of old bush vines (more than 60yo) from three parcelas, Peña Caída, Centenales y los Trepados, planted to Tempranillo with 10% each of Garnacha and Viura. These are field blends grown at just below 600m, yielding 4 tonnes/ha. Open tank fermentation of destemmed fruit, after a brief cold soak, 14 days fermentation and maceration, then malo transformation and 'aged' in raw concrete and 500L French oak casks for six months. Unfined. An incredible bargain!