And love to come back to update this older post from my several trips to this region. Actually, I came to know the wines here late in life as started with those up north in Spain not to mention them by name here. When I started coming to this region with the family several years back, the owner of the house we rented gave me a bottle of a local wine and it was not bad. Later checking in the Licoreria of Cuenca liquor store found out the price to my surprise it was a wine costing less than 10 euros!! I have been chasing down wines from this region ever since. I like to tell you a bit more on the wines of Castilla La Mancha!
I like to make my small contribution to the wines of La Mancha, and a bit story on wines of Spain in general. My first ever taste of wine was by my maternal grandmother at my tender age of 8, and of course , it was Spanish wine from Tenerife. Ever since, my love for the drink has increase exponentially to the point of taken professional courses from the ICEX commercial office of Spain, and SOPEXA Food and Wine from France government entities over the years. I have tasted wines from many countries and even arrive of having my own small cellars averaging 50-100 bottles in the cave or basement cellar of my home as I write.
Wines are part of us, part of our culture ,and accompany with food of any kind they are always sublime, even on a hot day a glass of white or rosé is very good. Studies have repeatedly shown that the anti oxidant in red wines especially is good for your health, of course in moderation. Spain has a strong old tradition on wines going back especially to the Romans. The wine business developed slowly with small families and the quality shows deficiency. However, as the country move up the ladder and investments came in, and more technically educated families began to get involved the quality has increase exponentially. Now the wines of Spain are all over the world even here in France my wine merchant has Spanish wines! And we buy them too!!!
My recollection of Castilla La Mancha was of very high alcohol content wines, cheaply made and quantity prime. As the years went by ,and my visits to the region increase, my tasting grew to the point that now there are several properties worthy of me buying and can recommend very good to all. La Mancha is a Denominacion de Origen or DO area , an area designated to be of quality wines and you can see on the bottles the grayish black label on the back. The areas are Toledo, Albacete, Cuenca, and Ciudad Real. Going irrigated by the rivers Guadiana, Tajo, and Jucar ,and you have the biggest vineyards in the world with about 400-600 000 hectares of grapes of which about 170 000 are under the DO La Mancha denomination. This makes it into the biggest vineyard area in Spain ,and it is known as the winery of Europe or “La Bodega de Europa”. There are about 182 towns and more than 250 bodegas in it ,some with huge sizes. It is ,also, the biggest Spanish exporter of wine with 22% of their production exported. Surprise….!
You have them as in Spain in general the reds or Tintos (we do not say red=rojo, tinto comes from how we name the grape tinto del pais ! that here it is call tempranillo ::)) . You have them jovenes or youngs, 60 days of ageing minimum, and crianza with 6 months ageing minimum, and reserva with 12 months of ageing minimum and gran reserva with 18 months ageing as minimum. Of course, also, rosé or rosados, white or blancos, sparkling or espumosos, naturalmente dulces or naturally sweets. The region uses many kinds of grapes such as the whites: Airén, Macabeo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo, Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez, Parellada, Torrontés, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Viognier. The Reds or tintos such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, Moravia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Graciano, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. The last few years the harvest have been great and very good wines were produced, such as 2016 (Very Good) , 2017 (Excellent),2018 (Very Good), and 2019 (Very Good).
The official wine regulation DO for wines of Castilla La Mancha in English : https://lamanchawines.com/en/
We drank the local La Mancha wines that were superb! all purchase in Cuenca at the La Licoreria store. There is a wholesale store just entering Cuenca by the bottle or box, we purchased there, and there is a regular liquor store of them in city center Cuenca. webpage: https://www.lalicoreriadecuenca.es/
Let me give some of the properties I seek and enjoy drinking over the years; of course this is my choices.The prices are from 2017.
Some of the pioneers of this region and the most famous is the Marqués de Griñon ,Carlos Falcó. Here is a brief story: There is about 43 years ago that he planted the first grape in the area; it was a cabernet sauvignon that he hidden in his apples as at the time it was illegal to bring foreign grapes into Spain. Within the olives and flower trees of Toledo he set up the winery in the farm call Pagos de Familia Marqués de Griñón, an extension of his family since 1292. The denomination of Valdepusa, as his wines are label for the first simple wines bottled in Spain and today export to the world. Webpage: https://www.pagosdefamilia.es/html_en/vinos.html
We went over for a bottle of Finca La Estacada, from the Uclés area year 2014 red tempranillo Crianza 5,57€! this was great yummy full and crafted in an old farm belonging to the descendants of queen Maria Cristina of Spain and widow of king Fernando VII. Acquired by the current owners in the mid 20C the family Cantarero Rodríguez ,winery from 2001. The complex now has bodega, hotel ,and restaurant. The wine like said is heavy powerful red full with raspberries and vanilla, light fruity tannins in mouth full body , great yummy in the end. Excellent price: quality value to grab by the case! webpage: https://www.fincalaestacada.com/los-vinos.html
The Finca Antigua recommended by the rental house owners. This winery is part of the great Spanish winegrowers Martinez Bujanda, very well known to me. The wines of Finca Antigua were first time tasted and we got several bottles due to the knowledge of the winemaker and the local recommendation. The winery is in the town of Los Hinojosos practically in the border of the provinces of Cuenca and Toledo in Castilla La Mancha of course. We first tried the Finca Antigua Cabernet Sauvignon Crianza 2014 and it was a bit light for our tastes; mineral hints from the cabernet but with nuances of dairy and undergrowth, indicating the freshness we obtain due to the altitude of the estate; grapes from Las Mejias lot. However, only 5,12€! worth it for the price. We moved up to the Finca Antigua Unico Crianza 2011, with cabernet sauvignon ,syrah, tempranillo, and merlot grapes. This one was much better for our tastes. Highly intense dairy hints of yoghurt, toasty character with woodland hints oak spicy nutmeg clove and tobacco and slight toasted sensation. smooth creamy on the mouth, full bodied and rounded, well integrated acidity/alcohol and very balanced, long creamy finish, very fresh . Just fantastic at only 6,38€ to grab by the case! Finally, we have drank the Finca Antigua Reserva 2010 cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot. Very intense, delightful sensations of fallen leaves with fresh mint, thyme, eucalyptus to the front. Touches of vanilla and dairy ,oak well integrated with the fruit hints of tobacco, leaf, juniper, aniseed, very elegant complex suggestive. The taste full and powerful great body with backbone very rich and pleasant, great for rich cuisine. We love it, and only 10,24€ to grab by the case!! webpage! https://fincaantigua.com/en/our-wines/
Then, we went for the unique Alejandro Fernandez (Grupo Pesquera) a winemaker very well known to me and have met him, (now business run by granddaughters) this was again a first time drink on the El Vinculo 2011 Tempranillo red. The winery is near the windmills of Campo de Criptana (of Don Quijote fame) that was purchase a manchego typical house that was modernized into the winery or bodega in 1999. The name of the wine is to make it close to the original bodega of the family in the Duero region ; El Vinculo= the tie end or link. The wine El Vinculo 2011 red tempranillo was aged for 18 months in American oak barrel and 6 months in the bottle. In the mouth has sweet tannins mark with a mature fruit and an explosion of cherries, blackberries and blueberries. Wonderful and price at 10,16€ is a bargain to grab by the case! webpage: https://familiafernandezrivera.com/fr/el-vinculo-9/
My sneaky sons already had the Calzadilla Classic 2010 out for drinking and we did! This is the property we tried to visit twice in last two years and always closed in August even if we did call ahead to see it. Well , we purchase the bottles at La Licoreria and tried the red wine. Their site tells us in Spanish and I translated, the Bodega under the name of Bodega Familiar Uribes Madero is born in 1980 and the first bottle under Calzadilla does not come than in 1992. Today at Pago Calzadilla you have 26 hectares of which 20 are dedicated to the vineyard with a production of 100K kg of grape to produce the tintos or reds. The Calzadilla Classic 2010 is done with Tempranillo 60%, Cabernet-Sauvignon 20%, Syrah 10%, and Garnacha 10%. Harvest from land parcels name Fogón, Aldehuela, Bildorado, Chocilla del Vinagre, and Viña Olivos. The taste is of the lighter variety,not our favorite on this bottle but nice nevertheless. The color is deep red with aromas of prune, raspberries, and white fruits like pear. You see the eucalyptus and tobacco, vanilla, and glycerine. Fruity sensation by the mouth from beginning to end . Round , balance with good acidity , long and expressive final. I just need to add was light texture with hints of wood, and high tannins still in it. Price at 12,71€ is ok but can do better cheaper. Webpage: https://www.pagocalzadilla.com/
Other nice bottles we had over the years were from lesser known properties such as the cooperative or Cooperativa Virgen de las Viñas, the biggest in Europe and maybe the world, presided by Rafael Torres. In the bodega of Tomesollo, (Ciudad Real) built in 1961 with 17 farmers and 300K kg of grape, following year 6M kg and now more than 200M kg of grape! Managing an area with 3000 farmer associates and about 7000 families in Castilla-La Mancha. We had tried the Rua tintos. webpage: https://cooperativarua.com/
An anecdote, the wine labels Oristan Crianza (tried) , and Marqués de Toledo Reserva (not tried) from the Bodegas Lozano, were prized with double gold and silver at the Sakura Wine Awards 2017,the most important wine competition in Japan and Asia with a jury all of women; they tasted almost 5000 wines!! webpage:https://bodegas-lozano.com/en/vinos/
You have several others from wineries/bodegas of Guadalajara, Toledo,and Cuenca provinces as well as Albacete and Ciudad Real. Here you see half the total wine production of Spain! There is a lot of cheap industrial wine done by huge cooperatives or private giants companies offering wine from 2,75€. However, when you go up to a Pago Calzadilla, Rio Negro or Finca Antigua you are in heaven, pocketwise too. The Castilla La Mancha region tourist office on winery visits: http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/de-vinos/visitas-a-bodegas/
Of course, all these wines were tried on site when possible and brought home !!! and we are waiting patiently to be back for more as these cannot find in my area of Morbihan! But we have still in bottle Dominio de Valdepusa , Marqués de Griñon , and Pago Calzadilla Allegro 2007. Again, all these wines are great to buy and drink, the price/quality ratio is huge, and bargains of gastronomic proportions; La Mancha is it, and Spain is stepping out. Drink with moderation but drink wines is good for you too.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
Leave a Reply