Wine of the Month-January

As most of you know, I love picking out wines that aren’t usually on people’s radar, and are affordable, yet tasty, and pair with food well.  Well this is one that hits all those key words.  Bobal is a lesser known grape grown outside of Valencia, Spain. Most of the vineyards are on limestone, and at altitude, which retains the grapes freshness.  Also, many of the vineyards are bush trained, like on the Greek island of Santorini, as this area is one of the driest regions in all of Spain.

This Atance is 100% organic and hand-picked with light tannins, nice minerality, and some floral notes.   There is also blackberry, black olive, coffee and lovely spice notes.   They add 15% Tempranillo as well, which really makes it clean and focused with a lovely balance.  This wine is great on it’s on, or with a large array of dishes.  They ferment it in 100% stainless steel, but then allow malolactic fermentation to take place in oak vats, which helps make this wine very smooth and drinkable with no need to age for many years, or decant for hours.  Just pop and go!

When you are not sure what to order when you are at a restaurant, ask about the Spanish wines, as they are normally a great value, and give you the best bang for your buck.  And keep your eyes open for Bobal, as I have seen it come up a few times in the past few months at a few wine shops.