Bodegas Piqueras Old Vines Garnacha

From southeast spain, the ‘Piqueras’ label is fast becoming well known for reliable high quality and great value. The older Garnacha vines here (45-60 years) provide oodles of velvety black cherry, damson and spice flavours, with hints of vanilla oak.

• 90/100, Jamie Goode, in an article on Bodegas Piqueras: “14.5% alcohol. 40-50 year old Garnacha Tintorea (Alicante Bouschet, not the same as Grenache), organically farmed. This is sweetly floral with bright berry and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, leading to a dark, intense palate showing liquorice, meat, mint and sleek black fruits, with a nice spicy, fennel-laced finish and a touch of damson. This is inky and lush, but still has freshness and a bit of tannic bite and a slight bitter twist. Really impressive for the price.” (2021 vintage)
• Featured by Brian Elliott, MidWeek Wines, “Medium bodied but with rich aromas, the result has a core of plum, cherry and loganberry flavours. Supplementary support comes in the form of good acidity – but limited tannin – coupled with hints of vanilla, aniseed and mocha.” (2021 vintage)

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.