Spain beyond Rioja

93 of our 188 Spanish wines come from Galicia, from three areas that taste clearly different. In the Ribeira Sacra, Algueira, Guímaro and Ronsel do Sil work slopes above the Sil and the Miño so steep that every grape is picked by hand. Carlos Carballo farms right in the middle of this area but bottles outside the DO on purpose.

On the coast, in the Rías Baixas, Albariño grows on pergolas: at Attis in the Val do Salnés and with Toni Alonso of Veigamoura in the Condado do Tea. Inland in the Ribeiro, near Ourense, Inma Pazos of Coto de Gomariz makes Treixadura and red blends of Sousón, Brancellao and Mencía.

Our tip: start in the Ribeiro. Half of the Abadia de Gomariz is Sousón, with Brancellao, Ferrol and Mencía making up the rest, so you meet several old grapes in one bottle.

Wineries

The Bierzo sits just across the Galician border, already in León, in a basin between high mountains. At Mas Asturias, José Mas makes only Massuria, from Mencía vines planted from 1912 to 1970. Sangarida belongs to the Fariña brothers of Attis, together with Robustiano's daughter Lía.

Further south, on the high plateau along the Duero, Cayetana Santos and Mapi Melado make pure Tempranillo at Raíz de Guzmán. It is the best known area on this page.

If you like Rioja, start here: the same grape, grown on sites around 900 metres, where cool nights hold on to the acidity.

Wineries

Our second focus lies inland from Valencia, on a plateau between 700 and 900 metres. Bobal from old bush vines comes from Viña de Eufemia and Carres in Casas de Eufemia, Verónica Romero near Los Duques, Pago de Tharsys in Requena and Vera de Estenas near Utiel.

Most of our sparkling wines come from Requena too, made by the traditional method with a second fermentation in the bottle. Vicente García of Pago de Tharsys is known as the “father of Cava in Requena”, and we carry several from Viña de Eufemia.

Albariño grows here as well: in 1985 Pago de Tharsys replanted a plot at 700 metres with Galician vines. The grapes are picked at night and reach the cellar 15 to 20 minutes later. The Vendimia Nocturna goes with pulpo, shellfish and sushi.

Wineries

Can Ràfols dels Caus has its vines in the Garraf massif south-west of Barcelona, on shallow limestone with a breeze off the sea. Jordi Esteve runs the organic estate that Carlos Esteva built up in the 1970s. Xarel·lo, which in the Penedès mostly ends up in sparkling wine, he also bottles still, partly from chestnut casks.

On Mallorca, Robert and Conny have run Rosaberto since 2018, between dry stone walls near Felanitx. They make wine from island grapes only: Callet, Manto Negro, Prensal Blanc and Giró Ros.

We also have Xarel·lo from Requena. Viña de Eufemia blends it with Tardana and Macabeo in the Balsa Blanco, Can Ràfols with Macabeo and Muscat in the Terraprima.

Wineries

In Bandol, around La Cadière-d’Azur, the Arlon sisters of Trois Filles, Cédric Gravier of La Suffrène and Alain Pascal of Gros’Noré all work with plenty of Mourvèdre. Near Gargas in the Luberon, the Palatinate-born oenologist Frank John is converting Domaine de la Coquillade to biodynamics. In Champagne, Sébastien and Aurore Frézier do everything themselves south of Épernay, and in Saint-Loubès near Bordeaux, Bernard and Marie-Odile Hébrard pick by hand.

In Piedmont, Fabrizio Battaglino makes Nebbiolo on sand in the Roero. In the Valais, Oscar Hauser and Thomas Carl leave waist-high grass between the vines in Savièse, and in the Engadine, Gian and Nico Gross make vermouth in Sent to their father's recipe.

If you like Bandol rosé, you should also know the Carrascal from Viña de Eufemia: pure Bobal from vines over 60 years old near Casas de Eufemia, four months on the fine lees.

Wineries