Vera de Estenas Bobal Utiel Requena 2023

Press 4 Red • May 2025 Direct Press Selection Bobal is not a grape we hear about everyday but it is one of the most widely-planted in Spain. It is also one of the most overproduced and does not have much reputation for great wine. One of the best importers of Spanish wines in the US — José Pastor — nevertheless started his import business back in 2003 with a container of Bobal from Vera de Estenas in Utiel-Requena. The region is basically a backwater near Valencia in southern Spain, but Vera de Estenas stood out as one of the few making serious Bobal. The operation is nearly 47 hectares, with vines dating back to the 1920s, worked organically at 800 meters above sea level on calcareous clay. Their everyday Bobal bottling is from vines that are 50 years-old on average. Fermented and aged in concrete, it's an easy-drinking wine with plum and cherry notes and some meaty, iron undertones and pleasantly crunchy tannins to give it a depth, balance, and versatility that is truly hard to find