Spanish wine is on such a roll at the moment, as many of these tasting notes attest. The beautiful picture on the right of the Huecha Valley in Aragón, north-east Spain, is from the Consejo Regulador of the Campo de Borja DO.
The 188 tasting notes below are grouped by colour and are in alphabetical order by producer (sur)name.
WHITES
Pale-medium gold. Lemon rind and a touch of thyme, with some...
Albillo Mayor, barrel-fermented very slowly and aged around 33...
Albariño from Salnes. Stainless steel.
Pale lemon. Nutty lees...
Super-inviting nose: creamy and zesty at the same time. Very...
Fermented in concrete.
Slightly wild grassy/herbal nose. Dry but...
Xarello, Macabeo and Chardonnay. Unoaked but made to age...
90% Xarello, 10% Riesling at 400 m on predominantly limestone...
Certified organic. Estate grown and bottled.
Tropical fruit...
Certified organic. Three months in French oak barrels.
Strong...
Smells like warm baked apples and golden pastry on cold slate...
100% Garnatxa Blanca. Eight months in oak.
Honeyed, toasty, smoky...
70% Garnatxa Blanca, 30% Viognier. Four months in oak,
Smells...
An easy glass of liquid Golden Delicious apples and Sweet...
Rodrigo Méndez is the man behind the small Galician estate...
A blend of Hondarrabi Zuri with a little bit of Hondarrabi...
Sustainably farmed vineyards, no herbicides or systemic products...
Honeysuckle and lychee juice, almost as if, on first sniff, it...
Clear glass bottle. Visible petillance in the bottle and glass...
Quite spicy on the nose. And quite spicy on the palate! Szechuan...
Ripe peaches, broad and confident out the glass. Notable...
Albillo Real (lower-acid Albillo), fermented in big barrels...
100-year-old Godello, one year in barrel. Only 800 bottles. ...
70% Viura, 30% Malvasía. Stainless steel.
Very pale gold...
Mostly tank fermented but part in old 500-litre barrels.
...
Single vineyard Albariño, fermented in old chestnut 800-litre...
Single vineyard. Fermented in an old 2,000-litre wooden vat. ...
120- to 140-year-old, pre-phylloxera Verdejo from plots in...
180-year-old, pre-phylloxera Verdejo from a single, low...
180-year-old, pre-phylloxera Verdejo from a single, low...
Organically farmed Xarello (85%) and Sauvignon Blanc (15%) grown...
Organic wine and biodynamic farming. Old vines. After a light...
Organic wine, biodynamic farming, no addes sulphites. Fermented...
Made specially for this London restaurant. From Salnes, right...
Like the St Jacques cuvée this is a blend of different plots...
100% Doña Blanca. People didn’t like early vintages of this wine...
Albilla de Manchuela/Albillo de Albacete. Seven small...
100% Verdejo.
Steely, freshly citric fruit. Pleasant creaminess...
50% Viognier, 50% Chardonnay.
Smells like hard candy and stale...
Equal parts Palomino, Albariño and Treixadura. All in tank. ...
From higher sites (500 m approx) on gneiss and weathered slate...
Limestone soils, single vineyard in the north of the...
A ‘regional’ blend, of fruit from different sites. Tank sample...
Fragrant, like gently poached peaches with elderflowers and...
West-facing volcanic vineyards. Mostly Listán Blanco plus...
90% Listán Blanco (aka Palamino) and 10% Albillo on volcanic...
90% Pedro Ximénes, 10% Muscat of Alexandria. Fermented and...
Their new négoce label. 75% Grenache Blanc, 25% Macabeo...
In a blue, Alsace-flute bottle, which seems strange for a...
Certified organic.
In a clear-glass bottle. Smells of fruit...
Certified organic, from a vineyard 750 m above sea level.
In a...
Crisp and slightly vegetal, like an unripe melon, with acidity...
100% Verdejo on infertile sandy soils. Six hours of maceration...
100% Merseguera. Stainless-steel, low-temperature fermentation...
All in tank.
Tangy green-apple fruit. Zesty apple and...
Aged in a mix of flextank and 500-litre barrels.
Lighty...
100% Verdejo.
Nettles and oranges on the nose. Rounded but with...
ROSÉS
Organic blend of old-vine Tempranillo and Albillo. Fermented...
Certified organic.
Bright fuschia pink. Strawberry candy...
50% Tempranillo, 50% Merlot. Planted 813 m above sea level...
Semi-dry, joven, on the back label.
I wish I could deduct points...
100% Tinta de Toro. Young vines in soils with light clay. Ligh...
100% Tempranillo.
Deep fuchsia pink and in a heavy, clear-glass...
REDS
Village wine from Cadalso de los Vidros in the Sierra de...
Village wine from Cenicientos in the Sierra de Gredos. 65- to...
Single plot from San Martín de Valdeiglesias, labelled ‘Dances...
100% Tempranillo from 60- to 80-year-old vines. 18 months in...
100% Tempranillo from 80- to 100-year-old vines. 20 months in...
Deep garnet, with a touch of brick. Black tea and truffle...
Mostly Tempranillo. 33 months in French and American oak...
Mostly Tempranillo. 33 months in French and American oak...
Tempranillo with around 5% other local varieties. Fermented in...
Two years in French oak.
Woody spice, malt and roast plums on the...
Dark, sweet, gorgeous damson nose. A little balsamic, a little...
Odd combination of meaty and jammy on the nose, but sumptuous...
18 months in French oak.
More meaty on the nose – makes me think...
Smelling of drains and old meat to begin with, but it blew off...
Smells like stewed apricots and sun-dried tomatoes. Rich and...
Very very heavy bottle: 1.98 kg when full of wine. Stewed fruit...
Aged in small but older French oak. Then a year in tank, which...
12 months in tank and concrete and then eight months in older...
Planted 1950s. Unoaked and fermented in tank and concrete.
Deepi...
New modern bodega supplied by an old mountain-vineyard in Rioja...
Mid crimson. Clean, light nose. Much fresher than its stablemate...
Old-vine Tempranillo grown at 920 m above sea level.
Really...
Old-vine Tempranillo planted above 920 m.
Bitter-chocolate nose...
Inky and sweet-purple smelling then massive and inky and...
An equal blend of Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon. Four...
Garnacha, and the name means 'supple'. Sandy soils. Aged in...
Thin-skinned but tannic variety. Fermented in tank and aged in...
A blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. 12...
Bramble fruit, smoked meat, fine tannins and bright acidity with...
Less immediately fragrant than their Can do Sil, but still very...
Garnacha Tintorera and Monastrell. Organic certified.
Rich and...
Half the vines are 80–120 years, a blend of many different...
Mencía from three vineyards, very old vines, clay and sand...
Beautifully textured and seductive fruit. Very persistent and...
Garnacha on granite at 850 m.
Very pale garnet. Especially pale...
Certified organic.
Sweet black cherry and framboise with bit of...
Certified organic. Three months in oak.
Berry jam and sinewy...
I can only assume this is a blend of vintages as there is no...
From Ribeira Sacra, but labelled as Vino de España.
Understated...
Heavy bottle. Clove oil, cinnamon lift on the nose, and much...
60% Garnatxes, 30% Syrah, 10% Carignan. 12 months in oak.
...
Aromatic, violets and berries. Absolutely fizzing with purple...
Easy drinking, bright but simple palate. A bit of olive tapenade...
Apparently the first 'natural' wine in Priorat. Biodynamic...
Organic wine made from biodynamic grapes. No added sulphites. 85...
Biodynamic and vegan. The name reflects the fact that they think...
90% Trepat, 10% Grenache, all in tank. Bright label all...
50% Tinto Velasco, 50% Syrah. Aged in French oak.
Sweet, lavender...
100% old-vine Morate on granite.
Pale colour, more like a...
Ramón Estev (working with Bodegas Marañones). Old-vine...
Seven parcels of Garnacha and one of the local Morate. All old...
Another single-vineyard wine. 50% stems.
Mid cherry red...
Mencía from seven villages. 40% stems.
Mid crimson...
Mid-deep ruby-purple. Needs coaxing from the glass, but there’s...
Mid-deep garnet with a touch of haze. Plenty of black-tea and...
Mainly Cariñena, planted 1939 just after phylloxera.
Mid...
Magnum. 50% Garnacha, with the remainder Syrah, Cariñena, and...
60% Garnacha, with the remainder Syrah, Cariñena, and some...
100% Garnacha on licorella.
Medium ruby with a hint of...
100% Tempranillo from 75-year-old vines. 20 months in new...
90% Tempranillo, 10% other varieties (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon)...
From Rioja Alavesa. Vines at 500-750. This is made from the...
From Rioja Alavesa. 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano from the San...
Organic wine from biodynamically farmed young-vine Garnacha...
100% Tempranillo from a single finca. 10- to 12-day...
95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, 2% Garnacha. Three years in used...
100% Tempranillo. Special selection. Four years in used...
Old vines and field blend.
Lightish crimson. More dusty...
From the higher village of Punxeiro.
Light cherry red...
In Galicia but outside any specific DO. Continental with...
First vintage in 2001. 100-year-old vines from a 0.5 ha parcel...
Planted at 400 m elevation (north facing), clay soil with lots...
Mencía from many different plots. Warm vintage too but harvest...
Mencía. Frost shrunk the crop. 2017 was the earliest vintage...
Perez explains: ‘In 2005 (after working for the family business)...
Lower parcel planted at 300 m elevation with two different soils...
Planted in the 1930s. Macerated for three months with the stems...
20 ha plot planted at a high elevation. Over a hundred different...
Three-ha plot with nine different owners – clay and very porous...
Single-vineyard wine from the village of Rapolao. The vineyard...
The only one of his wines that is 100% Mencia. Three-month...
80% indigenous Moravia Agria (on limestone) and 20% Garnacha ...
100% Bobal on limestone. Carbonic maceration in big open tanks...
From a 1-ha single vineyard. Mainly Bobal with a few other...
Pre-phylloxera Bobal at 900 m on sandy soil. Carbonic...
Darker and more stony on the nose, less sweet-fruited than the...
Mid garnet. Ripe and sweet, but still very fresh, on the nose...
Gorgeous, tangy dark and red fruit. Smells wild and full of...
Dark cherry colour. As well as the fresher fruit of the 2010...
Telmo Rodriquez's first vintage on his own.
Deep cherry red...
Telmo Rodriquez arrived in 2010 so he blended this wine that...
Javier Zaccagnini has sold his shares in Aalto to focus fully...
100% bush-vine Tempranillo from 60- to 100-year-old vines in...
80% Mencia, the rest a blend of local varieties. Fermented in...
Comes in a white box and a very odd square, blue bottle. 100%...
Sharp, slightly bloody red fruit on the nose, cranberries and...
12 months in oak barrel and minimum 12 months in bottle
Grilled...
16 months in oak barrel and minimum 10 months in bottle.
Inky and...
Listán Negro on sandy soil, facing north and east at 480–520 m...
Listán Negro. Same soils and winemaking as Candio but this is...
A blend of five local grape varieties, whole bunch for the 30%...
Listán Negro, aged in old 500-litre barrels. 50% whole bunch. ...
Listán Negro on clay soil, facing north and east at 380–420 m...
Listán Negro, unoaked, low SO2. This wine is part of the...
North-facing Cariñena on slate. Much cooler site and harvested...
Equal parts Garnacha and Cariñena. Whole bunch, fermented in...
Their new label, a 'social project' buying grapes from seven...
100% Petit Verdot in a short, heavy bottle with broad...
Three months in American oak.
Plummy fruit on the nose, but...
Certified organic.
Big, candied fruity smell, like powdered wine...
Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah grown 750 m above sea...
100% Toro de Tinta, 80-year-old bush vines on sandy soils with...
100% Tinta de Toro, bush vines in gravel and clay with light...
100% Tinta de Toro. Eight months in French oak barrels.
Velvety...
Single vineyard, certified organic.
There's a Mediterranean...
Single vineyard, certified organic.
Spicy red nose. Deep...
Smells of violet confectionery. Strangely perfumed, as if the...
Alto Turia. Tempranillo, Syrah, Merlot.
A strange nose, a...
Alta Turia. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot.
Tea leaves and...
Very heavy, environmentally unfriendly bottle sealed with red...
Coloured like Pinot Noir, with an aroma a bit like Nebbiolo, and...
Unoaked blend of several vineyards.
Sweet red-fruited...
Interesting nose that is both ripe and perfumed, very ripe red...
100% Garnacha. Single vineyard chosen for freshness. 25% whole...
100% Garnacha. Their oldest vines, some pre-phylloxera.
...
12 months in French oak.
Strawberry fruit, smelling light and...
