Spanish red wines offer offer exceptional value and a bold entry into the red wines of Europe. Here are 7 major Spanish red wines to get a basic understanding of what the country has to offer. You can find great sub-$15 fruity crowd pleasers but there are also bold high tannin red wines that easily match the top collector’s wines of the world. Wine was introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians in 800 BC. Because of this, the wines of the Iberian peninsula are not the same French varieties we grow in the US. The wines are striking and unique, they also match perfectly with rich foods including thick cut cheddar burgers, empanadas, bbq skewers and pork roast. A juicy and spicy style of Tempranillo that typically receives less than a year of aging. Because wines are not aged long, they are spicy, fleshy and tart. Most value-driven Tempranillo tastes this way and the most well-known example of it is Rioja Crianza. In Central Spain, there are sub-$10 wines which are ideal for traditional Spanish Sangria.

Bold high tannin wines that embellish Tempranillo’s best qualities that are aged for several years in oak and bottle. The aging of Tempranillo softens the variety’s spiciness and flavors become almost sweet and dried. The extended cost of aging explains why this style typically costs more. Keep your eyes peeled for wines labeled with Reserva and Gran Reserva.best wine under 20 dollars 2014 Garnacha is known as Grenache in France, but the grape originated in Spain. buy cooking wine under 21This fresh and juicy style of Garnacha is a bouquet of sweet red fruit and a smooth iced tea like finish. best wine tours of europeYou’ll find this style of Garnacha in Northern Spain close to the border of France in the encompassing regions of Aragon and Navarra. high end wine furniture

Young Garnacha typically makes a wonderfully candied red fruit flavored Sangria. High end Garnachas are bold and complex with high tannin and dark raspberry flavors. These wines are aged longer and typically come from older vineyards. You can find single varietal Garnacha around Madrid, where old vines in high elevation vineyards produce concentrated wines. In Spain, blended Garnacha is matched with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cariñena and delivers bolder styles with blackberry and licorice.best type of dry red wine Monastrell is the same wine as Mourvèdre in France, but it’s actually a wine of Spanish origin. wine good for back painWines are intensely bold with high tannin, black fruit and black pepper flavors. This wine is primarily produced in Central Spain from the Mediterranean coast in Valencia to inland to La Mancha on the central plateau.

Most wines are produced in affordable style and offer excellent value. The more aging in oak, the more mocha, chocolate and vanilla notes the wine will have. Mencía (pronounced Men-THEE-ah) is a unique medium bodied wine that grows in Spain and Portugal. Wine collectors have likened Mencía it to Grand Cru Burgundy because of its’ layers red fruit, floral aromas and moderate mouth-drying tannins. The wines are made in Northwest Spain around the encompassing region of Galicia and in Portugal in the Dão region. Wines from Bierzo and Monterrei tend to be more full bodied and wines from Valdoerras tend to be lighter. The Monterrei and Ribeira Sacra regions sometimes blend Mencía with other local grapes including Bastardo. A relatively unknown grape to the US due to very little importations, Bobal is known mostly in Central Spain where it’s prized for its deep opaque purple color, high tannins and black fruit flavors. The wines were once studied and characterized as having higher levels of resveratrol.

Since the wine does have ample tannin, be sure to pair with a richly flavored meat, like carne asada. See the Regions on a Map of Spain See the regions of Spain visually on a wine map. Spanish Wine Region Map Have you had a Spanish wine you love? Tell us about it below.Change is in the air in Rioja. Not just among those who are questioning the regulatory body’s rules. You will meet an encouraging new generation of Rioja producers starting their own bodegas. In making my choices, I was asked to focus on crianza gran reserva and non-Tempranillo red wines, but it is worth pointing out that Rioja also has some exceptional whites. Hopefully some of these star white wines will make their presence felt at the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards. In Rioja, all but a handful of the DOCa’s finest wines are comparatively inexpensive.There are oceans of cheap supermarket Rioja (I saw reservas on sale for £5.49 over Christmas), which suppress the prices of the good stuff, at least for now.

You don’t need to spend much more to trade up from something that’s simple, fruity and oaky to something that is complex, balanced and ageworthy. How much longer will this continue? Rioja, not before time, is seriously debating allowing producers to use the names of individual villages and vineyards on their labels – ludicrously, such a thing is forbidden at the moment. If that happens, I think the best terroir-focused Riojas will start to attract the attention of wine collectors and investors. And we all know what happens then… The full list of 50 top Riojas from Sarah Jane Evans MW and Tim Atkin MW was publsihed in the March issue of Decanter. Subscribe to Decanter here. Always one of Rioja’s – indeed, Spain’s – best wines, this is from a 2.4ha vineyard in Laguardia, planted in 1945. It’s a superdense, richly textured wine with massive concentration, but it’s not forced or over-ripe. Intensely aromatic, with notes of liquorice and wild herbs, it beguiles your tastebuds with…

The grapes for Aurus come from vines that are at least 60 years old, picked as late as 11 November in 2010. It’s a very cool, north-facing site and that’s reflected in the wine. Thick, dense and backward with a bloody note from ferrous red soils, some chalky acidity, serious,… ‘You can’t spit this,’ Benjamín Romeo told me when I tasted it from barrel. It wasn’t the finished blend, but after a gap in production in 2013, Contador is back with a swagger. Rosemary, violets and dense plum and blackberry fruit, ripe tannins and a fresh flourish. It’s a real surprise just how suddenly these terrifically aged wines have become so fashionable. This gran reserva is magisterial: a combination of power and lean elegance. Forest-floor aromas, delicate and supple in the mouth and very long. And look at the alcohol! An 18ha parcel close to the Sierra de Cantabria is the source of the Tempranillo here. Rich, concentrated, aromatic yet also refreshing, it’s a ripe mountain wine, showing flavours of orange peel, mulberry, Asian spices, vanilla and tobacco.

The tannins are ultra-fine, the finish very long. Grown on a 0.5ha parcel at 700m, this remarkable Garnacha, made from 60-year-old vines, is in short supply, but it’s worth tracking down one of the 400 bottles. Dense yet full of vigour, freshness and life, it’s spicy, refreshing and well balanced, with subtle oak and flavours of wild herbs,… Grown at the upper limits (600m-630m) for Tempranillo, this single vineyard of 25ha is situated just below the town of Laguardia on bony soils. It’s a very chalky, mineral wine that combines power with acidity. Complex, spicy and refreshing, with skilfully handled new oak and great ageing potential. Even Abel Mendoza, one of Rioja’s best viticulturists, finds Graciano tricky to grow and vinify. This is certainly not short of gutsy tannins, with plum and blackcurrant fruit, plenty of oak and depth, and tangy, palate-cleansing acidity. Another wine to tuck away. The chalkiest of the Miguel family’s three single-vineyard sites, K4 is located at 660m in Avalos.