11 benchmark wines from Navarra

We bring you 11 benchmark wines from across Spain’s most diverse, underrated and northerly wine region: Navarra.

Navarra is a land of contrasts, with semi-arid sandy plains to the south and forested mountains to the north and west. Picture source: navarrawine.com

Following a masterclass on the region in London last month, which was jointly hosted by the drinks business and Jordi Vidal, general manager of DO Navarra, we bring you tasting notes and other details on the wines we showed to highlight what this region has to offer.

From delicious Chardonnays to refreshing rosés, along with smooth red blends, and varietal Garnachas, Navarra can turn its hand to many wine styles, using both native grapes and French varieties – the Kingdom of Navarra came under French rule for almost 300 years.

Navarra is a land of contrasts, with the Atlantic to the west, Pyrenees to the north, and the dry sandy plains of the Ebro River Valley to the south, allowing the region to produce a wide range of wine styles.

Furthermore, because it is less well-known than its neighbouring wine region, Rioja, wines from Navarra tend to be good value. In particular, it’s home to particularly bright Garnachas from the northernmost part of the region, as well as some of Spain’s best Chardonnays, and juiciest barrel-aged Tempranillos.

Over the following pages we feature the full 11 wines from the masterclass. All the wines were chosen by the DO Navarra.

We hosted a masterclass on the wines of Navarra on Tuesday 29 November at Asia House in London

1 Viños Alex, “Alex” Garnacha Rosé, 2015

Produced by Viñedos de Calidad in Corella
Abv: 13.9%
Grape variety(ies): Garnacha
Ageing: Fermented at cold temperatures for 25 days
Sub-region: Corella, Ribera Baja
pH: 3.3
Residual sugar: 1.2 g/l
Price: €3 (retail price in Spain)

What does it taste like?
A rosé clearly designed to appeal to a younger wine drinking audience, with funky packaging and a clear bottle to showcase its pink appearance, which is paler than traditional Navarran rosados – they tend to be dark pink. It has an attractive nose dominated by ripe strawberry aromas, and in the mouth, it has lots of red fruit, a hint of peach, and quite a full, slightly oily texture. However, the wines finishes bone-dry and bright, so, while it’s ripe and juicy, it’s also refreshing.

2 Castillo de Monjardin ‘El Cerezo’ Chardonnay Unoaked, 2015

Abv: 13%
Grape variety(ies): Chardonnay
Ageing: Pre-fermenation cold soak for 8 hours, followed by two months in stainless steel tanks
Sub-region: Villamayor de Monjardín, Tierra Estella
Price: £6 (approx., UK, retail)

What does it taste like?
This unoaked Chardonnay comes from north west Navarra, and specifically the El Cerezo vineyard, which is named after a cherry tree that grows among the vines. It has flavours of apple, melon and peach, along with a slightly bready, almond-like character which comes from some contact with the wine’s lees. It has a generous core of ripe yellow fruit and a bright finish. It’s a good and inexpensive example of unoaked Chardonnay, and tastes like a slightly riper version of a Mâcon from southern Burgundy.

3 Bodegas Malón de Echaide, Blanco Fermentado en Barrica, 2015

Abv: 13.5%
Grape variety(ies): Chardonnay
Ageing: Two months in barrel
Sub-region: Cintruénigo, Ribera Baja
Price: €18 (in Spain, retail, online)

What does it taste like?
A ripe and full-bodied dry white wine with a creamy taste and texture along with flavours of vanilla, peach, and a pleasantly refreshing touch of lemon on the finish. This is a ripe, oaked style of Chardonnay, that seems to fit somewhere in style between a Pouilly-Fuissé from Burgundy and a ripe Chardonnay from California.

4 Bodegas Nekeas, El Chaparral, 2013

Abv: 14%
Grape variety(ies): Garnacha
Ageing: Six months in barrel
Sub-region: Añorbe, Valdizarbe
Price: £9.99 (in UK, retail, Majestic)

What does it taste like?
From a progressive cooperative in Navarra’s most northerly sub-region, this Garnacha comes from El Chaparral vineyard which was planted between 1890 and 1930 at an altitude of more than 450 metres in the Nekeas Valley. The wine is light in colour and body, and seems a little like a cool-climate Pinot Noir, but with firmer tannins. Flavours of plums and cherry dominate, while the wine exhibits a some herbal and orange peel characters, bringing a freshness to the finish.

5 Marco Real, Pequeñas Producciones Garnacha, 2014

Abv: 15%
Grape variety(ies): Garnacha
Ageing: 20 day maceration on skins, five months in barrel
Sub-region: Olite, Ribera Alto
Price: €12 (in Spain, retail)

What does it taste like?
Monte Real is a winery established in the 80s by Antonio Catalán, who founded the NH hotel chain, which stands for ‘Navarra Hotels’, and is now one of the biggest hotel groups in the world. This wine is a richer and bolder style of Garnacha than the example from Nekeas, and the Monte Real has flavours of red fruit, plums, along with some vanilla sweetness from barrel-ageing, and a touch of warmth from the high alcohol content. It’s a generous style of Garnacha, but not too heavy, with an attractive peppery note on the finish.

6 Bodegas Máximo Abete, Guerinda Navasentero 3+1, 2012

Abv: 15%
Grape variety(ies): Graciano (grown organically)
Ageing: 20 months in barrel
Sub-region: San Martín de Unx, Baja Montaña
Price: €10 (in Spain, retail)

What does it taste like?
Unusually, this is a wine made entirely with Graciano, which is a hard-to-grow and low-yielding grape usually employed to add spice and freshness in a blend. On its own, this variety produces a taught style of red wine, with a firm acidity. In terms of flavours, the wine has hints of blackberry and prune, along with a touch of dried herbs, such as laurel, a hint of balsamic vinegar, as well as some sweet vanilla from contact with new oak barrels. Something of a curiosity, but an attractive one nonetheless.

7 Bodega Inurrieta, Cuatrocientos Crianza, 2013

Abv: 14.5%
Grape variety(ies): Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Graciano, Garnacha and Merlot
Ageing: 14 months in barrel
Sub-region: Falces, Ribera Alto
Price: £10 (approx., in UK, retail)

What does it taste like?
Using grapes grown at an altitude of 400 metres (hence the name Cuatrocientos), this wine has lots of ripe, dark berry fruit but also a touch of a cooler, claret-like tobacco and dried herbs. At its core, there is some Christmas cake sweetness, black and blue fruit, and some warmth from the 14.5% abv. Despite the sweetness from ripe fruit, oak and alcohol, it finishes dry, with firm tannins.

8 Bodegas Príncipe de Viana, Limited Edition, 2012

Abv: 14%
Grape variety(ies): Merlot (50%), Tempranillo (25%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%)
Ageing: 14 months in barrel (75% French oak, 25% American)
Sub-region: Murchante, Ribera Baja
Price: £11 (approx., in UK, retail)

What does it taste like?
A wine dominated by ripe red fruit, almost like strawberry and cherry jam, combined with vanilla, coconut and toast from ageing in barriques. It has a slightly grainy tannin texture and a touch of warmth on the finish. It’s like a sweeter and fruitier reserva-style Rioja.

9 Bodegas Alconde, Viña Sardasol Crianza, 2012

Abv: 13.5%
Grape variety(ies): Tempranillo
Ageing: 12 months in barrel
Sub-region: Lerín, Ribera Alta
Price: £10 (approx., in UK, retail)

What does it taste like?
Bursting with delicious red fruit, this is a juicy wine with instant appeal. It also has a Pinot Noir-like floral aroma and elegance. Along with the grape-derived flavours is some sweet vanilla from barrel-ageing, and, on the finish, a slightly grainy tannin, giving a dry sensation.

10 Bodegas Ochoa, Javier Ochoa Series, Ochoa Reserva, 2009

Abv: 14%
Grape variety(ies): Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Ageing: 12 months in barrel
Sub-region: Olite, Ribera Alta
Price: £16 (approx., in UK, retail)

What does it taste like?
Bottled almost five years ago, this wine is starting to show some development, with flavours of leather, forest floor and balsamic vinegar, along with soft, smooth ripe red fruit. With a pleasant combination of sweet, stewed fruit and dry tannin, along with a fresh acidity, this is a wine that combines a European wine structure with a New World fruit richness. Very good.

11 Bodega Otazu, Altar, 2007

Abv: 14%
Grape variety(ies): Cabernet Sauvignon (95%), Merlot (5%)
Ageing: 18 months in barrel
Sub-region: Echauri, Valdizarbe
Price: €28 (approx., in Spain, retail)

What does it taste like?
This Cabernet Sauvignon has been made with ambition, and comes from a 400-metre vineyard in the north of Navarra. Just 9,500 bottles were produced, and the wine was aged in French Allier oak barrels before resting in the producer’s cellars for several years. The wine has aromas of truffle, leather, balsamic vinegar and a touch of cedar. It also has lots of black fruit and a tight-grained tannic texture, making the wine appear younger than its age. A ripe and complex alternative to left-bank claret, and so much juicier than anything you’d find in Bordeaux from the rather disappointing 2007 vintage in the region.

And finally…

Chivite’s 125 Blanco is a barrel-aged Chardonnay made from the Senorio de Arinzano vineyard in Cintruénigo, which is in Navarra’s Ribera Baja sub-region

Although wines from Bodegas J Chivite weren’t shown at the masterclass, it should be mentioned that this producer is responsible for some of the region’s best-known and most accomplished wines. Working with Tempranillo and Garnacha, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, Chivite is highly respected in the region, particularly for its work with French grapes. Indeed, its Colección 125 Blanco is considered one of Spain’s best white wines, and has been crafted over the past two decades with the help of the late Denis Dubourdieu, the great white wine consultant from Bordeaux, who sadly died in July this year.