If you love Garnacha and you live in Spain, you can consider yourself very lucky, as I don’t think there’s ever been a better time for this wonderful grape variety in the history of our industry here. Garnacha is the 3rd most planted red grape in Spain and increasingly is being seen as a very real contender for the most interesting grape variety in the country (although I suspect Tempranillo and Mencia may still have something to say about that)! Aside from its very obvious appeal to drink, full of juicy red fruits, spicy, peppery characteristics and soft, supple tannins, it’s also doing a remarkable job of showing an ability to transmit terroir; to have a sense of place, an increasingly valuable concept in the wine industry.

Garnacha has historically been grown very widely, but it’s only the recent ambition of wine-makers in Spain that’s carried it forward so quickly, with high quality producers in almost every warm region of the country. Garnacha from Catalunya has always been rightly famed, and the sleeping giant of Aragon is slowly waking up, but top quality Garnacha can be found in the warmer sub-regions of Navarra and Rioja, at high altitude in the Sierra Grados mountains and even increasingly towards Galicia. As long as there’s sufficient heat and sunshine to ripen Garnacha, it isn’t overly fussy about soil and as a drought resistant variety, it can withstand some pretty punishing environments.

Rioja is a region where Garnacha has historically played a secondary role, generally blended in to add heft and spice to Tempranillo blends. The majority of the grapes hail from Rioja Oriental (previously known as Rioja Baja) where the warmer, almost Mediterranean climate can ripen Garnacha reliably, and unfortunately a great deal of it is pretty uninspiring stuff, destined as it is to a supporting role. Increasingly, however, wine-makers are waking up to the potential treasure chest on their door-step, and varietal Garnacha is starting to become a very real element of wine-making in Rioja, and not necessarily just volumes of cheap, fruity wine made via carbonic maceration either.

Case in point; Vinos en Voz Baja. This is a new project by a gentleman by the name of Carlos Mazo, focusing on recovering older vineyards in Rioja Oriental (I suspect the recent name changes within Rioja didn’t go down well with Carlos, given the clever business name!). Currently he only produces two wines that I’m aware of, both of which are very good, but today I’m going to focus on his Costumbres Tinto 2016, a delicious, juicy, mineral Garnacha. His white Viura is also delicious and both wines are fairly priced, considering the small production quantities, the very manual, minimum intervention style in both the winery and vineyards, as well as the general quality.

Vinos en Voz Baja Costumbres 2016
Mostly Garnacha with a small amount of Graciano (amounts not given) from recovered vineyards in Rioja Oriental, fermented using indigenous yeasts in open wooden vats and aged for a further 6 months in old French oak. 14% ABV

Vibrantly purple in colour, I suspect largely from the small quantity of Graciano in the blend, and relatively restrained on the nose. Ripe strawberry and damson fruit leads the way, but there are lovely, subtle aromas of white pepper, light toast and wet stones in the background. Dry and fresh on the palate, but full of the juicy, sweet-fruit that makes Garnacha such a joy to drink. Supple, powdery tannins add a new dimension to the wine, and the mineral flavour of wet stones come through on the surprisingly long finish. A very endearing wine and even better than the excellent 2015 we recently served at Maestrazgo Wine Club! Well worth the money. 91pts 

Purchased from Monvinic Store for €15.15