On the Aragon trail.....

Once a powerful kingdom whose sphere of influence stretched from the Eastern Mediterranean coastal region of Spain to as far as Naples and Sicily in the east. Aragón is now one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions. The wines of Aragón have traditionally been quite heady with natural alcohol levels reaching levels as high as 17 or 18 per cent. The red wines are made predominantly from the Garnacha (or Grenache) grape, which had traditionally been sold in bulk for blending. Two DO's in particular are helping to raise the profile of Aragónese wines; Carinena, and Calatayud. These DO's are starting to benefit from investments in modern wine-making technology, which is revolutionizing the style of modern-day Garnacha. Throughout much of Aragón, large co-operatives continue to dominate production, buying in grapes from the small vineyard holders who would are mostly unable to do the marketing to get their wines to your table.

The D.O. of Cariñena is one of the oldest recognized appellations of Spain. Created in 1932, the D.O. has a long history of winemaking. During Roman times, the wines were mixed with honey before drinking, and during the Middle Ages, there are records of tremendous vine plantings in the zone. It is located in the province of Zaragoza, roughly halfway between Madrid and Barcelona.

Cariñena benefits from a continental climate, meaning very warm summers and much colder winters than found along the coast. Although there are large differences in altitude in the D.O., most of the best production is grown on the undulating hills in the central part of the zone, on red soil with a large amount of small stones and gravel. As such, the vineyards tend to be extremely well aerated. These rich and well drained soils combine with the warm summer temperatures assist the vines in producing some very intense grapes.

Although the DO of Cariñena has given its name to the Cariñena grape, the most important varieties are the red Garnacha which makes up 55% of vineyard plantings - used in both red and rose wines - and the white Viura comprises 20%. Tempranillo now constitutes 15% of the vineyard plantings and is growing, as barrel ageing or ‘crianza’ styles increase for red wines.
The first winery we will look at is Bodegas Pablo in Cariñena. The origin of the Pablo winery dates back to the XVIII century. Some of the most valuable assets of the Pablo winery are their vineyards that have a range of vines that average 30 years of age with some reaching up to 100 years old. The Pablo family has always been conscious of the local clones and has kept alive the indigenous grapes, mostly Garnacha and the unique Vidadillo grape which can be found blended into the Garnacha del Terreno. Viñedos y Bodegas Pablo owns 60 hectares or around 150 acres of vines.

When we first tasted the wines from their importer Frontier Imports, the Pablo wines were the first of the group to make us stand up and take notice. The Wine Advocate gave the Pablo wines Kudos in every review. That’s muchos kudos, I’d say.

'Vinedos y Bodegas Pablo is a family-owned estate, founded in 1760, emphasizing the use of indigenous varietals and biodynamic farming. This is an impressive portfolio from top to bottom.' The Wine Advocate


2001 Gran Viu Seleccion, a blend of 40% Garnacha, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Tempranillo, and 5% Syrah. It spent 12 months in used French and American oak and was bottled unfiltered. Purple in color and already emitting complex aromatics after 5 years in bottle, there are expressive scents of spice box, forest floor, earth, meat, and blue fruits. Medium to full-bodied, the wine has layers of ripe, concentrated fruit, supple tannins, and superb balance straight through to the 45-second finish. Drink this superb effort over the next decade. It is also an excellent value. Kudos to the Pablo family! 92 points Wine Advocate

Gran Viu Seleccion 2001, Retail $29.99 Warehouse $21.99

This next wine should have received a higher score. Sometimes a reviewer cannot get past the vintage on the label. There ends up being a glass ceiling pertaining to the score on a lesser-than-greatly perceived vintage. This wine has an amazing amount of dry extract and is stunning. Garnacha del Terreno is a cult wine in the making.

The 2002 Gran Viu Garnacha del Terreno is an outstanding effort in a difficult vintage. Aged 22 months in one-year-old French oak and bottled unfiltered, this full-bodied, showy, purple-colored wine offers fragrant aromas of kirsch, vanilla bean, and blueberry. This is followed by intense, layered cherry and blueberry fruit nicely concealing the moderate but silky tannins. The finish is long and pure. Kudos to the Pablo family! 91 points Wine Advocate

Gran Viu Garnacha del Terreno 2002, Retail $49.99 Warehouse $34.99

This next Pablo wine is a new one from Menguante and is a brilliant substitute for the often sold out Las Rocas old vines cuvee. The Garnacha Seleccion is deep, bright and is even better on day two.

The 2004 Menguante Garnacha Seleccion raises the bar a bit from the green label. It spent 8 months in a mixture of used French and American oak. Dark ruby in color, it is a bit more sophisticated than the two previous wines with its complex nose of vanilla, smoke, cedar, red currants and kirsch. It also offers more structure with ripe tannins nicely concealed by generous quantities of red and blue fruits. There is very good concentration and depth through to the pure finish. Give this outstanding wine several years in bottle for further evolution and drink it over the following 6-8 years. Kudos to the Pablo family! 91 points Wine Advocate

Menguante Garnacha Seleccion 2004, Retail $17.99 Warehouse $14.99

The unoaked 2005 Menguante Garnacha is produced from 80-year-old vines. Purple in color, it exhibits a fragrant nose of kirsch and blueberry. Medium-bodied, this wine is packed with ripe fruit and layers of flavor all the way through to the finish. This awesome value can be likened to a Cotes du Rhone on steroids. Kudos to the Pablo family! 90 points Wine Advocate

Menguante Garnacha 2005, Retail $9.99 Warehouse $7.99

Another find from Cariñena is Bodegas Victoria. Bodegas Victoria is a project of Juan Manuel Segura, the winery proprietor, and Miguel Angel de Gregorio, owner-winemaker of the highly regarded Rioja estate, Finca Allende. We have two wines from Bodegas Victoria, Pardina and Dominio de Longaz. The winery is ultra-modern where no stone is left unturned in an effort to produce top quality wines.

Victoria’s Pardina wine is produced exclusively from estate grown fruit. The grapes are night harvested for freshness, macerated for 18 days on the grape skins for extraction and then aged in French Allier oak casks for 4 months. The thrust of the winery is to combine tradition and experience while utilizing the most advanced technology in order to produce extraordinary wines. Pardina is produced from 70% Tempranillo, 20% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

Purple-colored, it offers an attractive perfume of spice box, smoke, black currant and blackberry liqueur. Ripe and supple on the palate, it has enough structure to evolve for several years. This excellent value has a pure, 30 second finish. Drink it over the next 4-6 years. 89 points Wine Advocate

Bodegas Victoria Pardina 2005, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $9.99

The Dominio de Longaz is also produced exclusively from estate grown fruit. The hand harvested grapes were sorted and then macerated for 26 days on the skins. The wine was aged in French Allier oak casks for 12 months and is unfiltered. Produced from 30% Tempranillo, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah and 10% Merlot.

It is similarly styled compared to its younger sibling (Pardina) but with more obvious oak, richer flavors and a slightly longer finish. It merits 2-3 years of cellaring and should drink well through 2017. 90 points Wine Advocate.

Bodegas Victoria Dominio de Longaz 2004, Retail $19.99 Warehouse $16.99

Off to Calatayud:

The region of Calatayud is located about 150 miles northeast of Madrid. One of the youngest viticultural regions to attain D.O. status in Spain (as late as 1989), Calatayud is comprised of some 8,000 hectares or 20,000 acres of vines, most of which are planted to red varietals.

Calatayud benefits from a continental climate with large diurnal shifts in temperature. Cool nights equate to later harvests and better retained natural acidity in the grapes. As most of the vineyards lie on an old river basin, the soil is comprised of brown limestone and loam over slate and gypsum. This particular soil has shown to be also quite good for production of olives, cherries, and other fruits as well as being a terrific host to the vines of the region.

As there are many growers with small vineyard holdings in the region, cooperatives are important here as well. The Maluenda and San Alejandro co-operatives have taken the lead in producing well-priced wines of an international standard in Calatayud. Importer Eric Solomon works with Jean-Marc Lafage of Domaine Lafage in France’s Roussillon on his Calatayud wines. Eric and Jean-Marc have convinced the directors of the San Alejandro co-op to bottle some of the extremely old-vine material separately. They make sure that these old parcels of vines attain the proper maturity levels with balanced extraction levels. The proof is in the pudding when the Las Rocas ‘VV’ or ‘old vines’ appears in our stores and disappears within a few days.

The Las Rocas regular Garnacha bottling is an old favorite and has been a staple at the Wine Warehouses for years.

‘The unoaked 2005 Las Rocas Garnacha is sourced from low yielding vineyards ranging in age from 70-100 years. It gives up attractive aromas of kirsch, raspberries, pepper, and damp earth. This is followed by a broad, full-flavored wine with a supple texture and no hard edges. Drink this pleasure-packed wine over the next 2-3 years.’ 90 points Wine Advocate.

Las Rocas Garnacha 2005, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $8.99