Weinhandelshaus Scholzen

The recently bottled 2018 La Xara felt a little reductive and undeveloped, with a sharper profile, very fluid and long, and polished tannins. This is one 2018 that feels superior to its 2017 sibling. All reds ferment with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts. It has varietal aromas closer to the Garnacha from Gredos than those from Aragón, and the palate also has the granite texture. Very tasty and with 0.5% less alcohol than the 2017. This matured in a 5,000-liter oak foudre and a 4,500-liter oak vat. There are 10,000 bottles of this.

The Ponce family, quality leaders in Manchuela, have a brand new winery that was first used for the 2017 vintage. That warm year, where they saw 30% less grapes, was much better in the Mediterranean strip of Spain than in the central appellations like Rioja or Ribera del Duero. I also tasted some 2018s that were bottled early, from a much cooler year with good acidity and less alcohol. They have oak vats of 1,500, 4,500, 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 liters and 600-liter French oak barrels for the fermentation and aging of the wines from their 50 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Iniesta, Villanueva de la Jara, Villamalea and Casa de las Monjas that result in 120,000 bottles they produce each year. These are among the best value wines from Spain, and I think the scores reflect wines that are worth a lot more than what they cost.