Bodegas Ponce Manchuela Clos Lojen Viñas Viejas Bobal 2023

Viejas Bobal, the grape variety you can't miss

Juan Antonio Ponce proves like no other that you can make brilliant wines from unknown grape varieties in obscure wine regions. This remarkable Spanish winemaker graduated as an oenologist at the age of 17. After a few years at the side of legend Telmo Rodriguez, he started his own bodega at the age of 23. He is now regarded as the reference for his wine region Manchuela and as a true bobal expert.

What makes Juan Antonio's wines so good is their unparalleled finesse and elegance. The Bobal grape can produce quite rustic, alcoholic wines, especially in combination with the hot Spanish climate. Those from Bodegas Ponce, on the other hand, are juicy and fresh, with a pure fruit expression and a very modest alcohol content. This is partly due to the cooler location of the vineyards and partly to Ponce's way of working, which is strongly influenced by biodynamics and the French vin nature movement.

 

The magnificent Clos Lojen is considered Juan Antonio's calling card. It is made from bobal from vines of forty to sixty years old from various plots in Villanueva de la Jara and Iniesta. Juan Antonio harvests the grapes by hand and ferments them with the grape's own yeasts. After After the fermentation he lets the wine mature for seven months in large used wooden barrels of French oak. He bottles the Bobal unfiltered and unfined.

It makes for a pure, subtle red wine with juicy fruit, refined tannins and a complexity that you would not expect in this price range. Drink it as is, or with a piece of pate, roast chicken or soft, creamy cheese. Highly recommended !