Clos Lojen - Bobal

Bobal | selectie van 8 percelen | bush vines dry farmed | kalk en klei terroir | vroeg geplukt  | apart vergist | korte vergisting op een lage tempratuur in grote eikenhouten tanks |  rijping 7 maanden gebruikt eikenhout van 600 liter | super juicy | frise zuren | framboos | specerijen | iets lactisch | zachte maar aanwezige tannine | Bobal kan soms smaken naar explosieve grenache stijl

J.A.Ponce

Juan Antonio begint in 2003 een andere koers te varen. In plaats van zijn druiven te verkopen, heeft hij voor ogen om een grootse wijn van de Bobal te maken. De wijngaarden zijn gelegen rondom de stad Cuenca, tussen Madrid en Valencia in. Na zijn natuurlijke vergisting en geen toevoegingen van zwavel krijg je een zeer bijzondere wijn. Een dieprode kleur, sappig en kruidig met een enorme diepgang. Geknipt voor voor de Nederlandse gastronomie!

Review

The entry-level Bobal 2019 Clos Lojen mixes grapes from two villages, Villanueva de la Jara and Iniesta. The grapes fermented with full clusters in 4,500-liter oak vats and matured in 10,000- and 15,000-liter oak vats for six months. It started with a strong nose reminiscent of carbonic maceration, but it soon turned into more licorice and serious aromas. This comes from a zone that ripens early, so the grapes were picked before the rain. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, and it's very tasty with moderate alcohol and good freshness, making it very versatile with food. It feels like a very complete vintage for this super affordable bottling, in line with the 2017; it has depth and is more serious than what the price might suggest. Great value! This is the first certified-organic vintage of this wine. 60,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2020.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the winery, the Ponce family has released from the excellent 2018 vintage a new top of the range that carries their surname. The family owns 50 hectares in the villages of Iniesta, Villanueva de la Jara, Villamalea and Mahora, from which they produce 120,000 bottles of some of the best wines from Manchuela. 2018 is an exceptional vintage, which Juan Antonio Ponce compares with 2008, 2010 or 2013, with lower alcohol and more elegant wines. 2019 is a very good year, very Mediterranean, with a warm summer and a cold spell during the harvest that perhaps produced more immediate wines than 2018, a little in the style of 2016 or 2017. Luis Gutierrez 92/100