‘Valley of Rocks’ wine from Spain rocks with Spanish-style pizza (#Worldwinetravel)

Looking for great value for price? Check out wines from Spain in your local store.

You’ll find bargains such as this Tempranillo from Valdepeñas, a city in the province of Ciudad Real in the south of Castilla-La Mancha. This is where the fictional Don Quixote famously fought windmills.

The name Val de peña means “valley of rocks” for the pebbles and large stones strewn around the hillsides. These special stones serve a useful purpose: they soak up the sun’s rays during the day and then release their heat to the vines at night.

It never ceases to amaze me that grapevines thrive in stony soils such as these and in the semi-arid, classic continental climate of long, brutally hot and dry summers and freezing cold winters. Luckily, high lime content in the soil helps to retain moisture during the parching heat of summer, and the Jabalon River and its tributaries provide water and air movement to lower temperatures. Most important of all, vineyards are planted approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. (Source: Wine-searcher)

The Wine World Travel bloggers are heading to Castilla-La Mancha this month. You can join in the fun on Twitter Saturday, 11/27/21, starting at 8 am PT/11 am ET, by following the #WorldWineTravel hashtag.

A few words about classification

Spain follows the Denominación de Origen (DO) system of classification for wine types. The system is similar to the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system of France, Portugal’s Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) and Italy’s Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) system. There are over 70 DOs across Spain and two Denominaciones de Origen Calificadas (DOCa): DOCa Rioja and DOCa Priorat. The DOCa stamp means the quality of these wines is better than the regular DOs.

In addition, there’s another classification system based on the time the wine spends aging:

• Joven (young): These wines are normally marketed the same year of their vintage. If they do spend time in a wood barrel, it’s never more than a couple of months.
• Crianza: Red wines should be at least two years old and spend at least six months in barrel. White wines and rosé wines should be a year old with at least six months in barrel.
• Reserva: Red wines should be at least three years old and spend at least a year in barrel. White wines and rosé wines should be two years old with at least six6 months in barrel.
• Gran Reserva: Red wines should be at least five years old and spend at least 18 months in barrel. White wines and rosé wines should be four years old with at least six months in barrel.

With this classification, there’s a bit of a margin for the Regulatory Council of each DO to decide the exact aging period, although most go with the time specified above. (Source: Spanish Wines)

The wine: 2013 Anciano Tempranillo Reserva, Valdepeñas DO
100% Tempranillo

Bodegas Navalón is a producer of Spanish and Portuguese wines from Calatayud, Campo de Borja, Valdepeñas, Valencia, Lisboa and Douro. The company has been in the same family for multiple generations.

Grapes for this wine were hand-picked from 30-year-old vines. Fermentation was at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks for eight to 10 days. The wine was then matured for at least 12 months in American, Hungarian and French oak with varying toasting levels.

My tasting notes: Transparent ruby with brick-red rim. Cherry/black cherry compote, cola and Lipton’s tea on the nose. Palate follows the nose with a hint of vanilla at the end of a long, peppery finish. Medium acidity. Alcohol: 13%. Suggested retail price: $12 (though I paid less at World Market).

The food: Spanish-style pizza

How do you make a Spanish-style pizza? Most of us probably would start with Chorizo, Manchego cheese and Spanish olives, right? A recipe is helpful, though, if only as a guide. I used this Fiorucci recipe but substituted a ready-made flatbread pizza for a round one. Wine and pizza melded seamlessly for an easy and tasty lunch.

For more on wines from Castilla-La Mancha, check out what these World Wine Travel bloggers have to say:

• Camilla is Chasing Windmills with Tojunto + Bodegas Volver La Mancha Single Vineyard Tempranillo 2017 at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Martin is Tasting A Rare Grape Variety: The 2018 Bodegas Gratias Tardana Sol at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Jeff entices us with La Mancha by the Liter – Gulp Hablo at Food Wine Click!
• Gwendolyn is Dreaming Impossible Dreams: Tilting at Windmills withTempranillo and Verdejo from Castilla La Mancha at Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley.
• Lynn is living La Mancha Local – Wine with Project Envínate at Savor the Harvest
• Linda shares ‘Valley of Rocks’ Wine from Spain Rocks with Spanish-Style Pizza at My Full Wine Glass.
• Terri pairs Turkey Tamales and Eguren Tempranillo Vino De La Tierra De Castillo at Our Good Life.
• Deanna is having a Rock Crab Boil + a Castillan Mag in a Bag Rose at Wineivore