Aranleon 2007 Blés

The estate... was founded in 1927. Today they farm organically 40 hectares of vines, focusing on indigenous regional grapes. The winery is located in Los Marcos, a town in Valencia roughly 60 miles from the Mediterranean Sea in southeastern Spain.

The wine... is still vinified in old-school tile vats at Aranleon, though sometimes they use stainless steel for particular cuvees. They have recently expanded their operation underground, making it possible to use gravity to move the grape must from the fermenters to their barrel room. They age some of their reds in Hungarian oak. The Bles red from Valencia is 80% old-vine Monastrell and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Aranleon Crianza from Utiel-Requena is 40% Bobal, 40% Tempranillo and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The land... Aranleon makes reds from two adjoining regions with significantly varied characters. Utiel-Requena is a high-elevation vineyard area shaped by temperature extremes: very hot summers and bitterly cold winters. Sturdy wines are made here from Bobal, a local grape that accounts for 80% of all plantings in Utiel-Requena. The other side of the coin for Aranleon is Valencia. The region is known for reds made from Monastrell (Mourvedre) that are light only in comparison to the dense wines of neighboring Utiel-Requena. There is a vibrant wine industry based in the port city of Valencia. The region is making an inevitable transition to fine wine: the bulk trade of former generations is waning, and wines are becoming fresher, more character-filled and exponentially more appealing to drinkers outside of the Levant.