Garnacha-based reds are among the most exciting and satisfying wines coming out of Spain today. Not only are they some of the best bottles we rate each year from the country, but they also represent excellent value for money. Our upcoming report on Spain, featuring 1,500 wines, found some compelling yet wallet-friendly garnacha wines that show off the country’s ethos of Mediterranean freshness, and we have no hesitation in recommending a few great-value bottles that are available right now.
The supposed “comeback” of garnacha wines has been a recent occurrence, although for decades most narratives on garnacha did indeed center around its status as Spain’s workhorse grape, playing second fiddle to the real national pride, tempranillo.
In fact, many growers in Spain uprooted their garnacha crop in the 70s, incentivized to do so by European Union subsidies. The old impression was that the grape mainly produced light, overripe and oxidative wines. But in the late 90s, low-yielding garnacha vines planted in the steep, terraced parts of Priorat yielded a deep, brooding and concentrated wine, prompting a renewed look at garnacha plantings. Today, around 75,000 hectares of vineyards in Spain are planted with garnacha, a 15 percent increase compared with 10 years ago.
READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF SPAIN 2020
The resurgence may well continue along with global warming, which appears to be more of a threat to “finer” grapes rather than the sturdier garnacha. Growers that have stuck by it can remain undaunted by drought-like conditions or overwhelming heat.
That said, you might be skeptical about the high alcohol content in garnacha – they rarely come in at anything less than 14 percent. But winemakers are offsetting this warmth of alcohol through old vines in the more elevated terroirs, resulting in more balanced wines with intensity but not obesity. And as long as there is balance, alcohol should not present trouble.
One of the most exciting wine areas in Spain is Sierra de Gredos, an extensive region straddling a few administrative zones to the west of Madrid. Wines like Comando G Vinos de Madrid La Bruja de Rozas 2019 are great-value introductions to the varietal – in this instance planted at an altitude of about 900 meters in soils rich in sandstone and granite.
Such granacha wines often show nuanced and spicy perfume, with real poise and delicacy. Aptly described as a nimbler, even Burgundian, interpretation of the grape, this new wave of garnacha from central Spain gives consumers a taste of its potential for uncanny purity, transparency and subtlety.
However, consumers might be more familiar with the bolder, darker and more powerful garnacha wines, which are sometimes blended with cariñena (carignan), syrah or international grapes from Priorat as well as the broader Catalonia area and made into an almost espresso-type of offering. These wines tend to show a brooding, concentrated side of the grape, but the best are still fresh, agile and drinkable, often with nuances of flinty, floral and spicy accents. But plenty of them are too extracted, jammy or high-octane to the point of wanting to add a few ice cubes to take the edge off.
In an era when the more conspicuous and hedonistic side of wine (featuring, for example, new oak, ripeness and concentration) is being accentuated, some garnacha wines have similarly risen to the challenge to become more popular drinks. The Spanish wine region of Campo del Borja, for example, is becoming known for a more concentrated garnacha that often comes with more oak plushness, rounded off with a creaminess that, at its best, dials into the exuberant fruit.
Even in Catalonia, more balanced and drinkable wines are coming from garnacha peluda (literally, “hairy garnacha”), a local mutation of garnacha tinta. These wines usually contain less alcohol and color, and places like Montsant, Terra Alta and Priorat are making some promising yet authentically rendered expressions of the grape with racy, savory and ethereal strawberries, red-berry fruit and enticing spices.
Below are eight wines currently available on the market that we rated at least 92 points and which show the balance and drinkability from garnachas we have come to expect. They are excellent examples of wines that combine great value with contemporary aesthetics. We are fascinated by how varietal garnacha has climbed aboard this bandwagon, showing the world its authentic yet seductive Mediterranean flair and freshness.
– Zekun Shuai, Associate Editor
Artazu Garnacha Navarra Pasos de San Martín 2016 – JS95
KLWines.com: $25.99
Comando G Vinos de Madrid La Bruja de Rozas 2019 – JS95
Zachy.com: $34.99
Bodegas y Viñedos Ponce Garnacha Manchuela La Xara 2020 – JS93
International Price: $12
Contino Garnacha Rioja 2019 – JS93
Fine+Rare: £16 (Available by 6 bottles)
Baron de Ley Garnacha Rioja Varietales 2018 – JS92
Vivino: $12.99
Bodega San Gregorio Garnacha Calatayud Las Martas Single Vineyards 2018 – JS92
Totalwine.com: $9.99
Bodegas Jiménez-Landi Méntrida El Corralón 2020 – JS92
KLWines.com: $19.99
Nekeas Garnacha Navarra Cepa por Cepa 2020 – JS92
Wine.com: $11.99
Vivino: $11.99
