Campo de Borja: Empire of Garnacha (#WorldWineTravel)

Tucked into the shoulder of Aragón, Spain, just south of Navarra and east of La Rioja and Castilla y Leon, the Campo de Borja wine region was ruled for centuries by kings and queens. During medieval and early modern times, the Kingdom of Aragón covered all of what is now autonomous Aragón.

Today, Campo de Borja is ruled not by a person, but by a grape. Self-named the “Empire of Garnacha,” the almost entirely red Campo de Borja Denominación de Origen (Denomination of Origin or DO) claims this grape as its own. Campo de Borja held onto its Garnacha when others pulled up stakes and is considered a pioneer in modernizing the variety.

The World, Wine and Travel (#WorldWineTravel) blogging group is traveling virtually throughout Spain in 2021. On Saturday 5/22, we’re chatting on Twitter about the wines of Aragón – a dry, stony land of mountains, plateaus, almond groves wheat fields, and, of course, vineyards. Hope you can join us. Simply follow the hashtag beginning at 8 am PT/11 am ET. 

Empire of Garnacha

Called Grenache in southern France, Garnacha in Spain, this widely planted grape spread south and east from its original home, first to Catalonia and then to other places where the Crown of Aragón (a composite monarchy that included the Kingdom of Aragón) ruled during the 12th-17th centuries, including Corsica, Sardinia, southern Italy, Sicily, Croatia, and Greece. Wherever it went, the grape thrived in the hot Mediterranean sun.

During the 1980s and 1990s, with European Union subsidies to provide incentive, Garnacha was extensively uprooted in Spain. In Aragón, it was well preserved but handled without much attention to quality. Now, winemakers in all four Aragón DOs – Calatayud, Campo de Borja, Cariñena and Somontano – appreciate the low yields from their old, gnarly Garnacha vines for the structure and aromatic complexity they provide to wines. These producers are harvesting grapes carefully, experimenting with various fermentation vessels, and varying the use of oak to suit the style of wine they’re making.

Campo de Borja obtained is protected DO status in 1977. Located in the northwest corner of the province of Zaragoza, the region has produced wine since the late 12^th century. Campo de Borja is made up of 16 municipalities and has about 15,500 acres of vineyards and 15 registered wineries. Of the approximately 8,000 acres of Garnacha grapes, about 40% are grown on vines between 30 and 50 years old. Several large cooperatives, owned collectively by farmers, dominate the market and produce wines that are generally good value for price.

The Moncayo mountains shelter high-altitude vineyards from the worst of the region’s cold winters, and the Ebro river and its tributaries temper the searing summer heat. A dry, nightly wind from the northwest, called the Cierzo, cools the vineyards and mitigates the continental climate. According to local winemakers, the Cierzo also gives the wines a characteristic “wild” aroma. Extreme daytime temperature shifts help to retain acids and enhance aromatics.

Vines grow in three distinct zones, defined by altitude. Each zone has its own soil type:

• Tabuenca, red clay mixed with slate at an altitude of almost 2,500 feet.
• Borja, very sandy soils with rolling stones at an altitude of 1,500 feet.
• Pozuelo, a mix of limestone and gravel at an altitude of almost 1,150 feet.

Generally, these soils produce a fruitier wine at warmer, lower altitudes and a more mineral-driven wine at cool, higher elevations.

The winery and the wine
2018 Borsao Garnacha, Campo de Borja DO
Garnacha/Tempranillo blend

Bodega Borsao dates back to 1958, the year the Cooperative of Borja was founded. In 2001, the Pozuelo and Tabuenca cooperatives joined Borja, adding their resources and their vineyards. The new company was called Bodegas Borsao S.A. Its 700 members became shareholders and a management team was appointed to start a grape-sourcing strategy and refurbish the three winemaking facilities. Now, the company has 375 growers.

All of Borsao’s wines are based on Garnacha – some of them 100% and some with a small proportion of other grapes. (The producer does not list the amount of Tempranillo used in this Garnacha blend.) Of their total vineyard acreage, 64% is planted to Garnacha – all 3,700 acres with an indigenous clone, 900 acres over 35 years old. On the hillsides, these old vines are bush trained (grown without the support of a stake or trellis) and not irrigated. Other varieties include Syrah, Tempranillo, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grapes for the Borsao Garnacha are sourced from small parcels in the Tabuenca, Borja, and Pozuelo vineyards from 1,200-2,400 feet in altitude. Vines are 15 to 25 years old. Soils are a mix of red clay, sand, gravel, and limestone. Each variety was fermented for 10-12 days in a separate stainless-steel tank.

Sources: Bodegas Borsao, Garnacha Grenache, Wine Magazine, Wine-Searcher, Winebow.

My tasting notes: Transparent, ruby red in color. Ripe cherry with a whiff of violet on the nose. Sour cherry attacks the palate immediately, followed by a spicy kick on the mid-palate and ending in a licorice/fennel note. High acidity. Long finish. Alcohol: 14.5%. Price: $8.99 for Cost Plus World Market store members. This medium-weight, super-affordable wine is meant to drink young. After three years in bottle, it was still fresh and lively. That said, I might prefer a more aged style to round out the mouthfeel and balance the high alcohol level.

The pairing: After somebody mentioned bison chili earlier in the week, I felt compelled to cook up a batch. Maybe the cool weather we’re having in the Pacific Northwest is to blame, but I find myself longing for meaty sustenance. For chili, I usually “wing it,” throwing in leftovers and adjusting spices on the fly. This time, I followed a recipe and dumped an entire packet of seasoning mix into the pot. Wow, was that chili hot! Not so lovely with spicy Garnacha. To lower the heat, I added a dollop of sour cream to each serving. Better, but still a lot of fighting between the spicy food and the spicy wine. The wine got along fine with Manchego cheese and a round of rosemary bread.

Ready to explore Aragón? I recommend these posts by fellow bloggers to get you started:

• 2015 Vinos del Viento Cariñena + Pulled Pork Sandwiches by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• A Tale of Garnacha, Exploring Aragon by Avvinare
• Aragón by Tabletop: Arroz Aragonés + 2015 Vinos del Viento Cariñena by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Aragon’s Carinena and Castles + Olive Anchovy Sammies by Wine Predator
• Calatayud, Aragon Wines: Evodia + Fully Loaded Pork Taquitos by Our Good Life
• Campo De Borja: The Empire of Garnacha by My Full Wine Glass
• Cooking to the Wine: Vinos del Viento Cariñena with Smoky Octopus, Bacon Smashed Potatoes, and Romesco Sauce by Somm’s Table
• Exploring Aragon via Plate and Glass by Food Wine Click!
• Exploring the Kingdom of Aragon and Its Wines by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Fountains of Wine in the Land of Kings by Children of the Grape
• Heading to Aragón and Valdejalón with Bodegas Frontonio by Savor the Harvest
• Learning Spain – Aragon’s Four Wine Regions: Carinena, Somontano, Calatayud, and Campo De Borja Through Eight Wines by Chinese Food and Wine Pairings
• Two Bottles of Lovely Wine from a Lovely Area by A Day in the Life on the Farm