Bodegas Piqueras Garnacha Tintorera

The ‘High Altitude Garnacha Tintorera’ from Bodegas Piqueras comes from the Almansa region of southeastern Spain. The Garnacha Tintorera grape is different to Garnacha/Grenache, and is a rare ‘red-fleshed’ grape variety – the vast majority are clear-fleshed, with the skins providing the colour. It gives notes of ripe red cherries, raspberries, crushed boysenberries, red plums and a touch of vanilla spice on the nose. Medium-bodied and deep in colour with well-integrated fine juicy tannins, persistent and soft on the palate with a silky fruit-forward finish.

Bodegas Piqueras is a fourth generation estate, founded in 1915 in the southeastern Spanish region of Almansa. With its semi-desert climate, it’s an ideal area to practice organic winemaking, with plenty of sunlight and little chance of disease. The cool nights contrast the hot days, giving vital acidity and aromatics to the rich, deeply-coloured wines. The traditional grapes of the region are Garnacha Tintorera, a rare red-fleshed grape variety, and Monastrell, also known as Mourvèdre. These are grown in the Los Timonares vineyard, which sits at 2500 feet above sea level. The Los Chuchillos vineyard has the estate’s oldest vines, with the gnarly bush vines being over 60 years old. Bodegas Piqueras recently added the El Vinculo vineyard, which is based amongst the olives, almonds and grains of the Almansa reservoir region. All viticulture is done with nature, not against it, and biodiversity is actively encouraged. Sheep graze to keep surrounding plants in check, and their manure is used as fertiliser.