Maybe it’s the euro to dollar exchange rate or just a few great vintages in a row, but Spain is coming out with some absolutely staggering bargains.  In reality, I think that Spain, more than any other European country, is starting to use modern, dare I say American, winemaking techniques that result in high quality, rich but approachable wines from vineyards that have been around for hundreds of years.

Here’s another theory beginning with a question: Which country has the most acreage of vineyards planted?  With over 2.7 million acres, Spain has nearly three times the acreage of the good ole’ US of A according to the Wine Institute.  So naturally Spain would have ample opportunity for ambitious winemakers to choose great grapes from underutilized vineyards to produce so many fantastic values.

Take a look at these bullets from my tasting notes and ask yourself if you are reading about a $12 wine or a $30-50 wine.

It’s the start of a Spanish bonanza with this spectacular 90 point Garnacha from the Calatayud region of Spain.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but Spain is absolutely the source of the best values in wine.  Garnacha (that’s Spanish for… Grenache) and Tempranillo reign supreme, both growing particularly old, allowing the grapes to get exceptional concentration and complexity.

Atteca is made with old vine Garnacha.  When they say old, they mean it!  Vines for this wine have been growing for 80-120 years.  With the exception of a few Zinfandel vines, that kind of age is absolutely unheard of in the United States.  The result is a juicy wine with beautiful purple coloring.  Its fragrant nose is floral, while on the palate it’s rock candy and distinct black pepper.  What really sets this wine apart from others in its price range is the balance, which is incredible.  Unlike the 3-4x more expensive “Armas” bottling (which is also VERY good), this one seems uninfluenced by oak.  It’s all about the bold but balanced flavors.  I tasted a lof of Grenache this past weekend in Santa Barbara county and only the very best achieved this level of concentration and those were $30-50.

Watch for more wines from Spain because the deals just keep on coming.  I bought 5 Spanish wines today including the new vintage of a couple of my favorites.  I have high expectations, so we’ll see if they deliver.

As if this all wasn’t enough value, LA Wine Co has the lowest price in the country by a full dollar according to Google Shopping.

Buy Here: Bodegas Ateca Atteca Garnacha Old Vines 2008 $11.95

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar 90 points

“($16; 100% garnacha) Bright purple. Intensely floral bouquet offers scents of black raspberry, lavender, Indian spices and white pepper. Juicy dark berry flavors are complicated by notes of candied flowers and pepper and show no rough edges. The floral quality resonates on the spicy, long finish. I’d drink this over the next few years to take advantage of its vivacious fruit.”

The 2009 Montebuena Rioja  is about as good as it gets for the price. Seriously.  It’s good.  As I’ve said before, some of the best values in the world are coming out of Spain and this Rioja is another in a line of Granache, Tempranillo, Carinena and Syrah based wines from España to over deliver.  In the last year in particular, the euro has been week vs. the dollar, further contributing to the value of these wines.

This wine pours a beautiful, slightly translucent red and puts off beautiful aromas of earth, cedar and raspberry.  It’s particularly polished with bright flavors of pomegranate, superb depth and outrageous balance for a wine in this price range.  This Tempranillo also displays surprising concentration gained from the old vines (up to 90 years) from which it was picked.  If it sounds like I’m describing a $25 dollar wine, it’s because that’s how good this wine really is.

90 year old vines

The 2009 Montebuena is proprietary grown and bottled, unlike many wines in Spain and the rest of Europe which are grown through co-ops.  In a co-op setup, farmers grow grapes and sell their crop to the local co-op, who then works with vintners who actually make the wine.  Some great wine is produced this way (and has been for centuries), but a proprietor’s pride in their product shouldn’t be underestimated and clearly shows through in this wine.

To you, fine Rioja, I say “Welcome to the 90 points under $10 club”.  It’s an exclusive club indeed.

Buy Here: 2009 Montebuena Rioja $7.99

Wine Advocate 90 points

“The 2009 Montebuena is 100% Tempranillo. Dark ruby-colored, it offers an appealing perfume of spice box, leather, tobacco, and blackberry. On the palate it is packed with ripe fruit, has outstanding concentration, and impeccable balance. It is a great bargain that offers a sneak preview of the great 2009 vintage in Rioja and northern Spain in general. It should drink well for 6-8 years.”

This could be considered the best deal of the year, depending on your taste.  Every wine I write up on this blog is an exceptional deal, but I send out Deal Alerts for the deals that are so good, I expect them to sell out in a matter of days, if not hours.  The last two I sent out, Chateau La Vieille Cure 2005 and Robert Craig Affinity 2007 have long since sold out or gone up in price.

Somehow this wine, that came in at #53 on the 2009 Wine Spectator Top 100 list, is still around and available for half of its release price.  Mas Doix Salanques has been my favorite Priorat since the 2004 vintage.  It’s made from declassified barrels – the ones that didn’t make the cut for their $120, 97 point “Doix” bottling – meaning this is made from the same grapes picked from 70-105 year old vines.  It’s lineage shows through, with complex flavors complemented by notable richness and texture.

I believe Mas Doix Salanques is the best Priorat value on the market today, and at this price, it’s vying for deal of the year status.

Buy Here: 2006 Mas Doix Salanques Priorat $23.95

Wine Advocate 93 points

“The Salanques cuvee is the second wine of Celler Mas Doix, a barrel by barrel declassification from Mas Doix itself. The 2006 Salanques is a blend of 65% Garnacha, 15% Carinena, and the balance Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 14 months in French oak. It offers up an enticing nose of cedar, pencil lead, tar, licorice, and black cherry. Dense, layered, and pleasure-bent on the palate, this well balanced wine will provide pleasure over the next eight years.”

Since drinking the 2005 Numanthia Termes (Wine Spectator’s #2 Wine of the Year), I’ve been craving another Tinta de Toro (a.k.a. Tempranillo from the Toro region of Spain).  The 2007 Bodegas Teso La Monja Almirez satisfied my carving in a major way and is a certifiable value for under $25 including shipping.

The Rioja region has a stranglehold on the Tempranillo grape, but I love the style made in the Toro region, which tends to be more bright and a little less rustic and earthy; more of a New World style.  This particular example holds true to those traits with a bright, expressive nose and rich mouthfeel complimented with sweet fruit.  The finish has a spicy, tannic bite that suggests that this wine will age nicely, mellowing out and developing more complexity in the next 2-4 years.  Further evidence of its ageability is that it opened up significantly the second night.

I drank this tonight with fettuccine coated with a homemade tomato sauce and topped with Parmesan encrusted chicken.  The pasta was a perfect compliment to the wine (yes, I consider food an accessory to wine), with enough acid to cut through the tomato sauce and enough structure to hold up to the pasta.  Enjoy it with pasta or enjoy it alone.  Either way enjoy it before it’s gone.

LA Wine Co. already has the lowest price in the country.  Adding in the free shipping makes it an unbeatable value.

Buy Here: 2007 Bodegas Teso La Monja Almirez $23.95

Wine Advocate 91 points

“The grapes for the 2007 Almirez came from 30-year-old ungrafted head pruned vines. The wine was aged for 12 months in one-year-old French oak. Deep crimson-colored, it displays an expressive nose of spice box, espresso, plum, and blackberry compote. Full-bodied on the palate with layers of savory black fruits, lots of spice, and enough fine-grained tannin to evolve for 1-2 years, it will drink beautifully from 2011 to 2019. It is an excellent value that over-delivers in a big way.

Bodegas Teso La Monja is the Eguren family’s new project in Toro featuring a state of the art winery and old vines of Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo). The sandy soils here meant that phylloxera never took hold so that most of the vines are ungrafted.”

Spain is producing some amazing values right now.  In an age when quality U.S. reds are considered values when they come in below $20, these Spanish wines under $10 are absolute steals.  How often have you drunk a $6 bottle and said “I can find absolutely no fault in this wine”?  I can count those experiences on one hand.

The 2009 Garnacha de Fuego does have one fault.  The label is absolutely awful.  It looks like a teenager’s Photoshop project.  Otherwise this wine is faultless.  That’s not to say that every aspect blew me away, but rather that everything is in its proper place- a real accomplishment for a $6 wine.

This Garnacha comes from 60-80 year old vines resulting in a concentrated wine that manages to retain an especially juicy, bright taste.  As vines age, they produce less and less fruit, but the fruit they do produce gets more and more concentrated.  All vines benefit from age (to a certain point) but Garnacha in Spain, Syrah/Shiraz in France/Australia and Zinfandel in the U.S. seem to get better with 50 and even 100 years of age.  The problem is that it becomes cost prohibitive as the vines produce less fruit.  So a $6 wine sourced from 80 year old vines is impressive!

I can’t think of many $6 wines that I would even consider drinking, let alone one that I would actually seek out.  Seek this one out  at L.A. Wine Co.  They have it for around $1 less than everyone else.

Buy Here: 2009 Garnacha de Fuego $5.99

Wine Advocate 87 points

“The 2009 Garnacha de Fuego was sourced from 60- to 80-year-old vines at 3000 feet of elevation, insane for an $8 wine. Aside from the price, the other piece of good news is that there are 6500 cases for the USA market. Purple-colored with spicy black cherry aromas that jump from the glass, this is a forward, friendly, ripe effort with no hard edges. Drink this crowd-pleaser over the next 2-3 years.

Bodegas Ateca is a collaboration between the Gil family of Jumilla and importer Jorge Ordonez.”

90 point wines for under $20 are rare.  91 points for $6.99 falls into the unheard of category.  In the latest issue of Wine Spectator, the cheapest price for a 91 point Spanish wine, in any region, was $40.  Drop down to 90 points and a $17 wine exists (2.5x this wine).  Making this wine an even better value, is that it’s a 2005, at a time when Spain is releasing many reds from the 2009 vintage.

Imported by the master of Spanish and French wines, Eric Solomon, this blend is mature, smooth and delicious.  Complex cherry and coffee scents on the nose lead into a velvety mouthfeel with ripe, but refined flavors.  Interestingly, this wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, winemaking techniques usually reserved for the high-end wines that don’t need any enhancements after barrel aging and before bottling.  The tiny, undetectable pieces of skin left in the wine contribute to the complex tannin structure and likely to the slight bricking (browning) color on the rim of the glass of this medium to full bodied wine.

This wine is from the Yecla region of Spain, an area with only 11 bodegas or vineyards.  There are some one square mile parcels in Napa that have more wineries than that!  It’s so exciting for me to explore the lesser known wine regions of  Europe where values like this can be had.  With 65% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Tintorera, this is a textbook Spanish blend.  If you are a fan of Spanish wines, this is daily drinking magic for a next-to-nothing price.  The 2005 vintage won’t be around for much longer so enjoy it while you can!

Update from day 2: This wine is even better after having been open for 24 hours.  The nose opens up and it gains depth.  Well done!

Buy Here: Bodegas Castano Solanera 2005 $6.99

Wine Advocate 91 points

“No Tasting Notes Given”

International Wine Cellar 90 points

“65% monastrell, 20% cabernet sauvignon and 15% tintorera) Saturated purple. Smoky raspberry and cherry on the nose, with a sexy mocha quality adding complexity. Fleshy, round dark fruit liqueur flavors caress rather than pummel the palate. Gentle tannins arrive late to add structure but this is all about silky, juicy fruit.”

Finding any Priorat under $25 is difficult, so when I saw this 90 point example at $12.95, I had to try it.  I got hooked on Priorat after drinking the 2004 Mas Doix Salanques.  As I was drinking this Priorat for the first time, I found myself comparing it to that wine, which is quite a feat given it’s price.  So how does it compare?  It’s not as refined or flashy, but it’s also less than 1/3 the price and is easily better than any Priorat I’ve had under $25.  In other words, it’s a no brainer for $12.95 or anywhere under $20 for that matter.

I drank this wine for two nights and it was much sweeter and mouth-filling the second night.  This medium bodied wine pours a translucent ruby color.  Like many young Priorats it doesn’t have an overtly expressive nose, but what it lacks in fragrance, it makes up in flavor which is dry, yet sweet, and finishes with nice length.

If you haven’t experienced the wines of Priorat, Spain, this would be a great place to start.  If you already love Priorat, I’m confident that you will be very impressed with the value of the Bodegas la Cartuja.  Of note, the last few vintages of this wine have handily outperformed their price points, so watch for this one each year.

Buy Here: Bodegas la Cartuja La Cartuja Priorat 2008- $12.95

Robert Parker 90 points

“Bodegas La Cartuja’s 2008 La Cartuja is a blend of 50% Garnacha, 30% Carinena with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from organically farmed estate fruit aged in French oak for 8 months. It offers up a reticent nose of graphite, spice box, underbrush, lavender, black cherry, and plum. This leads to a plush, sweetly-fruited, concentrated, mouth-filling wine for drinking over the next 5-6 years. It is an amazing value and a great introduction to Priorat.”

In honor of Spain’s victory in the World Cup, I decided to pop a bottle of old vine Garnacha.  Let me tell you, drinking this wine is WAY more exciting than watching 90 minutes of scoreless soccer.  Then again, so is being punched in the head, but that’s beside the point.  In all seriousness, this might be the most exciting wine I’ve had all year!  I’m not finished with the bottle, and I already can’t wait until the next time I get to drink this.

This wine pours an inky purple- so dense that the bubbles look almost as dark as the wine itself.  The nose is sweet and absolutely jumps out of the glass.  I’m not sure how the Spanish get their Garnacha (aka Grenache) so concentrated.  Blueberry syrup comes to mind.  This is muscular, firm and sweet but still manages to be refined despite its 16%(!!!) alcohol.

Chris Ringland, the man behind many of Australia’s best values (Pillar Box Red), is the mastermind of this fantastic wine.  It was rated 94 points from the Wine Advocate and 93 from Stephen Tanzer’s notoriously stingy International Wine Cellar.  This wine is drinking great today but will likely last for 10 years.  I see no reason to wait on it because it’s SO good right now.

Buy Here: Bodegas Alto Moncayo Alto Moncayo $37.95

Wine Advocate 94 points

“The same can be said for the 2007 Alto Moncayo, also 100% Garnacha. It offers up a similar aromatic and flavor profile, just at a slightly higher octane level. This opulent effort is all about pleasure; give it 3-4 years of additional cellaring if you’d like it a bit more civilized.

Old vine Garnacha made under the supervision of renowned vigneron Chris Ringland is the story at Bodegas Alto Moncayo in the little known DO of Campo de Borja.

International Wine Cellar 93 points

“($45; 100% garnacha) Deep, bright ruby. Complex bouquet offers scents of blueberry, boysenberry, cola, dark chocolate and mace. Broad, sweet dark berry flavors display liqueur-like depth and power and are nicely framed by velvety tannins. A tangy mineral note gains strength with air and adds vivacity to the long, sweet, spicy finish. I’d drink this alluring wine on the young side for its exuberant fruit character.”

The Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2008 tastes like a fine northern Rhone, only it’s from Spain! This old vine Garnacha is full bodied, exotic and bold.  If you are looking for something different, this 91 pointer (from both Wine Advocate and International Wine Cellar) is an incredible value.

At some point, disease has taken out most grape vines around the world, preventing them from reaching “old vine” status, but Garnacha (called Grenache in most of the rest of the world), was spared in Spain.  As vines age, they produce less fruit, resulting in a more concentrated, complex wine.  Because of this, Tres Picos pours a deep red/purple- a really beautiful color.  It has an exotic, spicy nose which foreshadows the equally exotic peppery flavor of this wine- a great food wine.

At $12.95 this Garnacha is seated firmly in daily drinker territory and totally outperforms its price point.  If you’re looking for easy drinking, smooth and light, this is not your wine.  But if you are looking for a well made, bold and flavorful wine at a truly amazing value, look no further.

Wine Advocate 91 points

“The flagship of this portfolio is the perennially outstanding Tres Picos. The 2008 Tres Picos is 100% Garnacha old vines in which 50% was aged in tank and 50% in French oak for 10 months. It gives up a compelling nose of black cherry fruit that jumps from the glass along with earth and mineral notes. Plush on the palate bordering on voluptuous, this pleasure-bent, full-flavored effort will drink well for another 3-4 years although few will be able to resist its charms for that long.

Bodegas Borsao has long been known for high quality value-priced wines and the current releases are no exception.”

International Wine Cellar 91 points

“($17) Opaque purple. Exotically perfumed bouquet of dark berry preserves, smoky minerals, potpourri and Indian spices, with a strong note of cracked pepper; smells like a high-end northern Rhone wine. Very spicy and tightly focused, offering juicy red and dark berry flavors and sexy notes of candied flowers and cocoa powder. Finishes with a wallop of sweet red berries and lingering, seductive spiciness; as ridiculous a value as one can find these days. The yield for this wine was reportedly under two tons per acre. (Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA)”

Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2008- $12.95