Spain is seen as a top-notch producer of wine across the globe. With lavish wineries spread over its lands, the country can produce the best wines.
The country is so fond of wines that the Spaniards have their own classification system of wines.
Be it white wine, rose wine, reds or red wine, the varieties of grape wine in Spain are almost surprising. If you are a wine enthusiast looking for the best Spanish wines to buy there are a few reviews that might help you. Read below to know more.
Table of Contents
The best Spanish wines, this drink comes from the northern Spain land of El Bierzo. The wine has developed a phenomenal taste by aging for fifteen months in the French oak barrels and vats. The drink has also been kept in concrete eggs to enhance the taste even more.
The grapes belong to the Mencia variety and are very popular among the Spaniards. This drink contains 14.7 percent of alcohol. The vineyard for this wine belongs to a continental climate. The grapes, when harvested, are very carefully dropped into properly sanitized steel tanks to keep the taste intact.
Once the wine is produced, instead of filtering, the wine is clarified with most gentle processes. Manufacturers suggest aerating the bottle for at least thirty minutes before drinking.
Pros
Cons
Produced from 15 percent of Mazuella and 85 percent of tempranillo, this red wine is a great choice among Spanish wines. To enhance the taste of this drink and to provide the best quality to the customers, this wine is aged for a considerable amount of time.
This version of red wine is left to age in the American barrels for almost twenty-eight months. Further, the wines age five years in the bottle. The alcohol percentage in this drink is 14 percent.
To produce the final version of this wine, a variety of techniques have been used throughout the history of Spain. The grapes are vinified and fermented separately. To keep the taste of the drink intact, the grapes are collected in stainless metal vats.
Pros
Cons
Enate is a very important wineries in Somotano. It is also a huge production unit for Chardonnay and is a popular choice in the north Spanish region.
This white wine has been produced while keeping in mind the taste and choice of vintage wine lovers.
Manufacturers use grapes by harvesting them manually and destemmed with utmost care. Along with gently pressing the vines, they have also been fermented in oak barrels to bring out the best taste in them.
Furthermore, the wine has been aged for more than seven months. During this period, only two stirrings have been provided. The drink was further aged for two more months before releasing it into the market.
Pros
Cons
This Spanish wine brings you the absolute taste of Spanish vineyards without you having to leave the country. Els Escurcons is made in DOQ Priorate and is a hundred percent organic. This red wine has a slightly different taste than the rest of its competitors.
This is the reason why a wine spectator would love this vintage drink so much. The environment in which the vines are grown is serene and filled with deliciousness. A length of the vineyard covers the Mediterranean garigue while the other side covers essential herbs.
The vines are harvested in a way to keep the interaction between the vineyard and the environment to the maximum. This is the reason why the land and roots are left without plowing. The drink is left to age for around 12 months to enhance the taste even more.
Pros
Cons
Considered as a radical choice of wine, Cami Pesseroles is made in Priorat. This wine is the product of the high-quality talent and craftsmanship of a father-daughter duo Priorat.
The vineyard is situated in the deep and spiritual nooks of Priorat. The environment has an effect on the drink that makes it even tastier.
The wines have been aged for more than a hundred years and the spoil is a combination of clay and slate. The vines used to produce this wine are usually pre-macerated. They are harvested manually and are fermented in barrels. These oak barrels are made of chestnut wood to enhance the taste of the drink even more.
The drink stays in these barrels for around twenty months and then is further stored for a few more months. The manufacturers suggest decanting the wine bottle for at least an hour before drinking it.
Pros
Cons
If you get to taste a sip of this exotic table wine, there is no way you would ever be able to forget the exquisite flavor it offers. It has a unique taste due to its location of production. This red wine is made from a very different blend of tempranillo malbec.
Bosque de Matasnos is the only wine produced in the Spanish vineyards which have tempranillo in 75 percent and malbec in 25 percent. Due to this, the wine is very popular across the globe. The vineyards which offer this delicious wine are more than sixty years old.
The best part about this drink is that the grapes are selected manually. To enhance the taste, the grapes are fermented at a very slow rate. The grapes are also macerated and then aged in old oak barrels for more than twenty-four months.
Pros
Cons
Spanish wines are available in more than 600 grape varieties all over the world. Therefore, choosing the best options for you is not the easiest. To help you in the process, below mentioned is a complete guide that will help you choose the best wine as per your choice and taste.
One of the most important things to consider while choosing your favorite wine is to check its ingredients. The best Spanish wines are made from tempranillo as their most important ingredient. It is mostly found in the Rioja wines.
They have vineyards which you can often visit and are just five hours away from Bordeaux. This is one of the reasons why Rioja wines have a slight taste of Bordeaux wine. La Rioja wines also have Garnacha as their important ingredient as well.
When these two ingredients mix, the result is a unique taste that you do not easily find even in Spanish wines. A wine that is made from tempranillo is often seen as the most vintage and classy drink of all time.
When out on Spanish wine shopping, it is very important to check the label of the bottle. You get a bunch of important facts about the drink and you can easily guess the taste of the drink without even sipping it.
On the label, you can check the level or styles of the vino, the importer that brought you the wine from its native place.
However, you might not find the grape variety that has been used to make the drink. Although, it often comes in handy to check the categorization used to describe the grapes.
On a broad level, there are three categories in which the grapes could be differentiated. A lot of information would be available on the website, newsletter, menu, and prices when in doubt.
Crianza is a category that is used after aging for two years. This drink is stored for at least a year in an oak barrel to enhance the taste. Reserva is another category that is stored for around 3 years with a minimum storage time of one year in an oak barrel.
Lastly, Rioja Gran Reserva is stored for around five to seven years. This vino is stored in a barrel for at least two years.
Choosing the right winemaking bodega can make a huge difference in the kind of drink you end up with. The best way to choose the right one is to search about all the winemaking bodegas and their reputation they have around you.
Every town or city has a list of the most popular ones and is easily available online.
Once you have the right amount of information available about the wines from Spain and their bodegas, you can prioritize each one as per your requirements and choose your favorite.
Checking the alcohol content of the wine is also very important while making your choice. A pure glass of wine may contain around 12 to 14 percent of alcohol. However, if you want to increase the alcohol content, you can always add some amount of brandy to it.
A specific wine that is made out when brandy is added to a pure vine is known as Sherry. Sherry is a native of Southern-western Spain. There are a total of two grapes called Pedro and Palomino that is used to make Sherry.
Sherry usually has a very dry taste. It can vary from medium-dry to dry in various wines. You can also find Sherry to be in cream sweet flavor as well. However, this flavor is a bit rare. In case anyone specifically wants to buy Sherry, you can search for all the producers in the town who get the best reviews.
The region where the Spanish wine has been produced matters a lot. Apart from the wine characteristics mentioned above, the region is also looked at very carefully while choosing a wine.
The two very famous regions for wines in Spain are Ribera Del Duero and Penedes. Vega sicilia is a popular wine is vega sicillia.
The Ribera del Duero is one of the regions that has been a favorite among wine lovers since the 1800s. Although a native wine of the Spanish vineyards, it is becoming a very popular drink in the United States. This category also provides the most expensive wines of Spain.
Spain is most popular for reds, followed by white wine. Spain also provides sparkling wine and rose wine as well.
Lots of varieties of grapes are available with terms such as tempranillo, garnacha, Macabeo, Mataro, black cherry, graciano, and many more.
Although choosing the best Spanish wine depends on your taste, there is one option that any wine lover would love. If you are a true wine lover, the "Marqués de Murrieta Castillo de Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010" will cast a spell on you. With its exquisite taste and high-quality, there is no way you will not love this wine.
