Producer · Rioja, Spain

Petra de Valpiedra

Finca Valpiedra is a single estate in Rioja Alta, owned by the Martínez Bujanda family and set on a meander of the river Ebro between Fuenmayor and Cenicero, on pebbly alluvial terraces. It is a member of Grandes Pagos de España, the association of Spain's great single-estate vineyards. The estate works with the region's classic Tempranillo and, less conventionally, with old-vine Garnacha aged in French oak, which is not the obvious choice in a region dominated by Tempranillo.

Old Garnacha in the right Rioja hands produces something genuinely lovely: fragrant red fruit, a softness that Tempranillo does not always offer, and a regional character that sets it apart from Garnacha grown further south. Everything here comes from the estate's own vineyards, and the wines are made with real care in small quantities.

Winery at Fuenmayor, Rioja · Grenache · £53.95 a bottle