Spain’s new wave of winemakers are rewriting the rules, taking inspiration from tradition and history but adding fresh energy, new ideas, and a focus on place. This six-pack shines a light on that movement, with a mix of well-known regions, rediscovered varieties, and producers who are breathing life into vineyards once overlooked.

From Valencia, Celler del Roure’s ‘Vermell’ 2023 blends Garnacha Tintorera and the almost-forgotten Mandó grape, showing just how exciting and original these revivals can be. In Bierzo, César Márquez—the nephew of Raúl Pérez—crafts Parajes 2022, a beautifully lifted Mencía that captures the elegance and freshness the region is now famous for. Moving to the Canary Islands, Bien de Altura’s ‘Ikewen’ Listán Negro 2022 is a standout example of how these remote volcanic vineyards are producing some of the most compelling and singular wines in Spain. This one is probably one of the most surprising and interesting wines in the pack so watch this space for this rising star.

The more “classic” regions are here too.  Alegre Valgañón’s Rioja Tempranillo-Garnacha 2022 is Rioja, but through the lens that captures clarity and a more terroir-driven focus to the style - something we are really loving from Rioja right now. Likewise, Dominio del Águila’s Pícaro Tinto Fino 2022—from Ribera del Duero—balances plush fruit with precision and fine detailing, thanks to Jorge Monzón’s deep respect for old vines and sensitive winemaking. Both show how even Spain’s most traditional regions are evolving in exciting ways.

Finally, there’s Casa Rojo’s ‘Machoman’ Monastrell 2020, a bold yet polished red from Murcia. This producer works as a collective across Spain, breathing life into forgotten vineyards and championing regional authenticity with a modern edge. Brooding, fun and full of energy.

Altogether, this six-pack is a snapshot of Spain’s new wave: winemakers working with both the familiar and the unfamiliar, proving why Spain is one of the most dynamic wine landscapes in the world right now.

The most approachable of their range of reds made with traditional grapes is the 2023 Vermell. Starting this year, it is made is exclusively from 70% Mandó and 30% Arcos and doesn't have any Garnacha Tintorera anymore. It fermented with a portion of full clusters and indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and matured in old underground tinajas for four months. It's paler and more elegant, with a moderate 12% alcohol and a pH of 3.6. It's still very young and, like all the reds from 2023, feels a little reductive at first but with purity, naked and getting to a profile closer to Safrà than any other vintage. It's very fresh and light, with red fruit and a chalky feeling. It's very approachable. It's a slightly shorter crop this year but the most elegant ever. This wine is a great hit and a real bargain. 30,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Apart from being lovely wines, the Celler Del Roure story is one of a return to history. This area has a near-3000 year culture of winemaking (since the Phoenicians), resulting in a bunch of locally adapted varieties. Until recently, local grapes were all-but abandoned: Verdil blanco and Mandó2  tinto were thought extinct. Merseguera white and Arcos red were held in little esteem, barely planted and not given the respect of viticultural care, including modest crop regimes. Looking forward 25 years, Celler del Roure’s most noteworthy wines are now based on these local cultivars. 14 hectares of Mandó and a further 10 of Arcos represent a fair proportion of CDR’s 60 hectares of own vineyards. It has been an impressive transition back to local grapes, requiring great patience and calm commitment 

The 2022 Parajes is the regional red representing El Bierzo, and it's a blend of different places, soils and expositions, from vines at different altitudes, between 450 and 780 meters above sea level. He used less full clusters, as he uses less stems in warmer years, with some 15% this time; part was in stainless steel and part in bins, as he ferments by plot. The wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year. It's super fine and elegant, fresh and balanced, with moderate ripeness and 13.3% alcohol, a pH of 3.65 and 4.76 grams of acidity. It's medium-bodied, with very fine tannins and great balance. The tannins are round and fine-grained, and the mouthfeel is juicy and tender, reflecting the warmer year. But there's no heat in any of the wines from the year. 32,605 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

César Márquez Parajes is a coupage of the most prestigious and unique Bierzo plots. Old vines grown as they used to be, without using pesticides or chemicals that can damage the natural balance of the terroir. Each of the plots is worked separately according to their needs and the harvest is carried out manually.

In the winery, 50% of the grapes used to make César Márquez Parajes are destemmed. Then they are pressed in the old-fashioned way, with feet, so that some of them stay whole during fermentation. Fermentation is spontaneous with the grape’s native yeasts. Once the must becomes wine, it is pressed and placed into 225 and 500 litre barrels separately. After 12 months the barrels are emptied and the different wines are combined. DECANTER

The 2022 Ikewen Tinto reminds me of the character of the 2018, perhaps a little narrower and spicier. It fermented with 100% full clusters but was still unoaked. There's also a lot of finesse here; it's elegant and floral, ethereal but with lots of energy and light. There was a big increase in production, and he reached 13,500 bottles this year. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Sourced from a site at circa 1500 metres above sea level. Among the more characterful red wines tasted of late. Lifted notes of lavender, peony, black pepper grind, orange zest and something gritty and resolute that beams energy across the mid-palate. A diaphanous web of tannin that corrals the fruit nicely. Just the right amount of tension. The sort of wine I could drink every day. Think cru Beaujolais with Mediterranean vibes. NED GOODWIN MW, James Suckling

After a formative stint in Bierzo working with Raúl Pérez, Carmelo Peña returned to his native Gran Canaria to establish Bien de Altura in 2017 with just €3,000 in savings and the generous support of his family. Despite having no background in the wine industry, his parents and relatives pitched in to help harvest and tend vines in the early days, allowing Carmelo the freedom to consult and make wine with other Canary Island projects—most notably as founding winemaker at Puro Rofe until 2021.

Bien de Altura remains a small-scale, artisanal project focused on producing tiny volumes from ancient, low-yielding vines scattered across Gran Canaria’s dramatic volcanic landscapes. The wines are shaped by purity, site expression, and the raw character of the island’s terroir, offering a vivid glimpse into one of Spain’s most exciting and underexplored regions.

The approachable and juicy red 2022 Tinto was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% white grapes, as the Garnacha and the white are vital. This year, the wine achieved higher ripeness, at 14.7% alcohol, but it doesn't feel alcoholic or warm and comes through as rounder and juicier but still fresh and in balance, very pleasant and easy to drink. It matured in 225- and 500-liter barrels—they now have more 500-liter barrels than 225-liter—and in 1,000- and 3,000-liter oak foudres. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate 

This Tinto reflects Oscar and Eva’s interest in the deep history of Rioja. The idea is to blend villages, some which suit Tempranillo and some which yield great Garnacha; blending the cold limestone of the northern hills with warmer iron-stone soils from foothills in the south. This is a hand-made, high care Rioja Generico. It specifically references the significance of Garnacha in historical Riojas: varietal Tempranillo wines being a fad since the 1980s. It’s inspired by the legendary Gran Reservas of Viña Real: back in the 1950s, the key fruit for such came from the parcels Oscar and Eva now work. 

The 2022 Pícaro del Águila Tinto has similar parameters to the 2021 (14% alcohol), but the sensation is of higher ripeness. Surprisingly enough, it has a lower pH than the 2021 I tasted next to it; they used more white to give it freshness and more of the other varieties. It has chalky, dry tannins, reflecting the terroir more, which is remarkable for such a warm and dry year. This is more serious, and the 2021 is more approachable. A triumph over the vintage. 61,757 bottles and 1,979 magnums produced. It was bottled in January 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate 

The 2022 Tinto Pícaro del Águila comes from La Aguilera in Ribera del Duero. It was aged 14 months in French and American oak casks and fermented with whole clusters. Sourced from clay-limestone soils, the wine is slightly carbonic at first, with black fruit, sour cherry and a herbal-fruity profile. Reductive yet expressive. The palate reveals fine-grained tannins, subtle chalk and delicate freshness. Juicy and flavorful, with a juicy core and light vinosity. A succulent wine. JOAQUIN HIDALGO, Vinous 

Jorge "Monzon the proprietor of the diminutive Dominio del Àguila, has been collecting some of the oldest vines in the region on bony limestone soils and vinifying them in a crazy old winery with a very cramped, dark subterranean cellar… the presence of Monzon, a true vigneron in the original, Burgundian sense, of the word is refreshing in a region many have called Spain's Napa Valley, thanks to the millions of dollars of investment in creating sleek New World reds and striking architectural wineries. But in the face of overwhelming novelty and innovation, its often the lingering past that's the most compelling feature. Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay, The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste. 

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.