Wine of the week
Our Catalan correspondent, Alan Nance, is rewarded for a (virtual) trip across the border into Aragón
Viñedos de la Vilueña Cuquero 2022
Calatayud (but outside DO)
Variety: Garnacha Tinta (+ other local varieties)
ABV: 14%
€14.00 from Massal Selection
Let me start with a confession. Although Aragón is barely a two-hour drive from my home in Catalonia, I have by and large only ever passed through en route to elsewhere, and I normally pay little attention to the wines produced in the region (a couple of top producers aside). In that respect, the Cuquero 2022 serves as a wake-up call.
After gaining experience in several prestigious wineries around the world (in France, Italy, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as closer to home), Jorge Temprado returned to his native Aragón and joined the team at Bodegas San Alejandro (Calatayud). Now, however, he has branched out on his own with a new project that, on the basis of the wine in my glass, looks set for a bright future.
He currently has 5 ha of young vines planted on arid clay and slate soil near to La Vilueña, the village from where his mother's family hails, and where his grandfather had for many years cultivated vines.
The idea is to grow the project by purchasing or gaining access to additional parcels of old vines in the area. This, of course, is Garnacha territory, although Jorge is also aiming to work with lesser known traditional Aragonese varieties (Moristel, Cribatinaja, among others).
For the time being, the Cuquero is the only wine to be released, and one that I am delighted to have discovered. Mostly Garnacha Tinta, with a smattering of other varieties, this has an immediately appealing nose of red berries infused with wild herbs and flowers. On the palate, it engaged me from the outset with its bright fruit, stony acidity and polished tannins that offer a pleasing bit of grip as it all unfolds.
The lasting impression as I savoured the bottle over two nights was of a wine that creeps up on you with its charms, one that you will want to sup while getting to work in the kitchen but which also has more than enough character to merit its place at the table. In sum, a rewarding wine that delivers a lot for its price tag.
Clearly, the name Jorge Temprado and the wines of La Vilueña are ones to keep an eye on.