Ponce Clos Lojen Bobal Manchuela 2024

A ridiculously good, unpretentious red from 40-year-old vines that tastes like it should cost three times as much. That's the magic Juan Antonio Ponce works in Manchuela (Manchuela is located in Castilla La Mancha, the land of Don Quijote and Almodóvar!). This is 100% Bobal from his estate vines, fermented wild and aged for just seven months in giant oak vats. The result is pure, perfumed joy. It smells like a fistful of crushed violets and tastes of fresh cherries and blackberries with a flicker of cinnamon. The tannins are there. They're soft, medium-grained, making it a very, very cozy wine. It improves any dish you put next to it.