Bodegas

Bodegas Vegalfaro Caprasia Bobal Merlot

£14.50

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Description

Full bodied red with refreshing, flinty minerality.

Bobal is the star-performing grape in this region, and here it’s blended to great effect with Merlot. Oak aged for three months in a mix of European barrels, this is a very complete Spanish red of high quality from 55% Bobal and 45% Merlot with lovely balance, complexity and finish. From vines aged 30-55 years in the Casa Alfaro vineyard at 700 m altitude on clay/limestone soils over gravel. You’ll find an almost flinty nose, with ripe berried richness expanding on the palate and hints of smoke and leather and deep-pile dark fruit with lashings of briar and damson plum character. A mantle of toasty oak adds to the ensemble, but in a well-judged, tempered manner while ripe tannins provide the necessary backbone and structure. A wholesome red for the dinner table – with smart labelling too!

  • 90 Points – Decanter Magazine, ‘Look out for Bobal; this once-rustic variety is coming up in the world. Lower yields and conscientious viticulture and winemaking are making the difference. Utiel-Requena and its neighbouring DOs are great hunting grounds for full-flavoured, honest reds. Caprasia has a note of Merlot, and just three months’ oak ageing.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, February 2018 (2016 vintage)
  • 90 Points – JamesSuckling.com, ‘A soft and easy red with chocolate, walnut and spice character. Medium body, fresh acidity. Fun coffee undertone.‘ (2016 vintage)

Taste

Vanilla-laced plum fruit

Aroma

Coffee bean and cocoa, Plum

The Vegalfaro winery is located in La Plana de Requena-Utiel, within the province of Valencia. The Bodega owns 60 hectares of vines that are divided into three separate vineyard plots based on soil, microclimate and grape variety. All vineyards are certified organic, as is the winery itself. This is ancient wine country that can claim a history of winemaking stretching back as far as the 7th century BC. It was in 1999 that Andrés Valiente and his son Rodolfo first established Bodegas Vegalfaro here. No pesticides have ever been used on their vineyards, as a result the soils are teeming with life. Because of the variety of soils, the different orientations and the altitude above sea level, between 600 and 900 metres, the vines benefit from exceptional growing conditions, each planted at a site to best suit that grape. Here the local Bobal grape variety that is king, ably supported by more internationally recognised varieties such as Merlot, Tempranillo and Chardonnay. The stand-alone three hectare "Pago de los Balagueses" is officially recognised and classified as a single vineyard (Pago) - the highest ranking wine denomination in Spain. This is a privileged place for growing grapes, surrounded by a pine forest, Holm oaks and aromatic plants, located in the Natural Park las Hoces. The soil of calcareous-sandy nature and the cool summer nights of this Pago favour the high quality of the wines. Syrah and Garnacha Tintorera are the predominant varieties here, plus small plots of Merlot and Chardonnay. Four wines from Bodegas Vegalfaro attained the “Excellent” rating with scores between 90 and 93 in the Peñín Wine Guide 2017. Among them, Rebel·lia red, which scored 90 points and was positioned as the best wine of Valencia on a value for money basis.The “Pago de Los Balagueses” Syrah and the Garnacha Tintorera-Merlot are both recognized as outstanding in the classification.

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Reviews

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  1. Excellent

    Lots of wine for the money, good with food. Serious bit of kit

    rstuart