Four small Spanish wine regions with famous next-door neighbours

Despite the wonderful diversity of Spain’s wine regions, only a handful dominate the public consciousness on the international stage. Names such as Ribera del Duero, Priorat and Rioja attract a certain level of recognition, the latter so famous in some markets that it’s arguably more than just a region – it’s a brand.

But next door to some of Spain’s best-known regions, there’s a renaissance in local viticulture taking place, an explosion of dynamic producers, and some truly great wines.

The wine styles may not be a world away from those whose origins you already know and love, but small points of difference make them worth exploring. In some cases, the soils and climate vary just enough to change the structure of the wines; other neighbouring regions offer similar terroir but unique grape varieties.

So, if you regularly buy or cellar wines from the well-known regions listed here, why not look to their neighbours, which can often be a great source of value? Explore these new wines through the safety of something familiar yet different and enjoy their individuality!

Montsant

Next to: Priorat

Spanish retailer Vila Viniteca offers the current release of L’Ermita from Alvaro Palacios at €1,790 per bottle. It’s one of the most expensive wines in the Spanish market and hails from a single parcel of mostly Garnacha planted more than a century ago.

It’s an icon wine from Priorat, only about two hours’ drive southwest of Barcelona.

But the comarca (county/district) of Priorat contains not just one denominación de origen, but two, for it’s also home to the DO Montsant.

In fact, when you look at a map, you can be fooled into thinking that the Montsant region is the more important as it wraps around Priorat, encircling it like a school of greedy sharks.

It also shares its name with the Serra de Montsant, the mountain range that strikingly dominates the region’s skyline. In fact, it’s Priorat that’s the bigger of the two DOs, with 2,196ha of vines, compared to Montsant’s roughly 1,800ha.

With 117 wineries, Priorat has almost double the number of Montsant’s 59, and yet Montsant has just as long a tradition of winemaking.

In the town of Marçà, remnants of Roman amphorae have been found, likely destined for Tarraco, or Tarragona as it’s known today.

Mountain fresh

Montsant, however, didn’t enjoy the same revival as Priorat in the 1990s and 2000s, when some of Spain’s most famous winemaking names started to put the region back on the viticultural map.

As a result, it’s common to find bottles of Priorat that cost more than €50, whereas Montsant is more accessible – often below €15. More than 90% of the production of both regions is red wine, dominated by Garnacha and Cariñena.

In the case of Montsant, wines can also include Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Peluda, Merlot, Monastrell, Picapoll Tinta, Syrah and Tempranillo.

Its whites are mostly Garnacha Blanca and Macabeo, but can also incorporate Chardonnay, Moscatel, Pansal (Xarel.lo) and Parellada.

The wines of Montsant aren’t as defined by the famous llicorella or slate soils found in Priorat, enjoying a variety of soils that bring complexity to their blends.

The climatic influences also vary from the cooler area in the mountainous north around towns such as La Morera de Montsant and La Figuera to the hilly landscape and warmer climate of Marçà and Capçanes, and finally the lower elevations in the south of Montsant around Darmós and Els Guiamets.

Mediterranean in profile, the wines benefit from cool breezes from the sea, which, from its closest point, is only about 35km away.

Approachable when young and capable of improving with time in bottle, wines from Montsant combine generous, ripe fruit with finesse and mountain freshness.

Ribeiro

Next to: Rías Baixas

Of Galicia’s five DOs, Rías Baixas is the largest, with 4,800ha of vineyards, about 97% of which is planted with Albariño.

Forty years ago, the region only counted 237ha of vineyards, but with the growth in popularity of the variety, both domestically and internationally, Rías Baixas has boomed.

In contrast, next-door neighbour Ribeiro extends over just 1,300ha of vineyards, although some historical sources suggest that a century ago there were more than 6,000ha of vines.

The decline in vineyard area can be attributed to several factors, including waves of emigration that saw the area suffer from severe depopulation, as well as the abandonment of low-yielding terraced plots, which became unprofitable as the price of bulk wine couldn’t match production costs.

The dominance of so-called minifundismo (a system of smallholdings) in wine-growing in Ribeiro also resulted in complicated vineyard management (as it still is).

But it’s the oldest DO in Galicia, with an ancient winemaking tradition that current producers are now channelling to make exceptional wines with unique personalities.

True terroir

The region is spread across the valleys formed by the rivers Miño, Avia and Arnoia, whose soils are varied but typically feature sábrego – decomposed granite that resembles sand and silt, and often brings an electric energy to Ribeiro’s wines.

More than 90% of production is white wine, with Treixadura the most widely planted grape (making up just over half of the total vineyard area), usually blended with Loureira, Godello, Albariño, Torrontés or Lado.

Other permitted varieties include Albilla do Avia, Branco Lexítimo, Caíño Blanco and Palomino (from existing plantings only).

Red varieties are also planted in Ribeiro, with blends often including Brancellao, Caíño Longo, Caíño Tinto, Ferrón and Sousón, the most-planted local red grape in the DO.

The white wines marry Atlantic freshness with ripe citrus, pineapple and stone fruit, supported by stony minerality and delicate herbal notes such as fennel and bay leaf. Reds offer vibrancy and tension, with wild strawberry, violet and peppery aromas.

They tend to be medium-bodied. Vibrant and concentrated when young, the wines are satisfying and versatile and can be enjoyed on a terrace in the sun or with Galicia’s rich and varied cuisine.

But like their Albariño neighbours in Rías Baixas, the wines really shine with some bottle age, developing greater complexity and a true expression of the terroir.

Arlanza

Next to: Ribera del Duero

In Spain’s northwestern region of Castilla y León, the town of Lerma is directly south of Burgos and north of the DO Ribera del Duero. It’s rich in history, with striking 17th-century architecture, including the Palacio Ducal, which offers views over the Arlanza valley (pictured).

The river continues east to the pretty medieval village of Covarrubias, known for its half-timbered houses and narrow streets.

It’s the gateway to Sabinares del Arlanza nature park, where ancient juniper trees line the deep river gorges along the Arlanza.

This is the backdrop to the Arlanza wine region, one of Spain’s smallest. Vineyards flourished here until the start of the 20th century, when phylloxera appeared and most of the vines had to be uprooted.

They were replanted, but not to the same extent. Later, waves of depopulation affected the area, as people left the land to work in the cities.

Until late last century, very few wineries remained but, fortunately, pockets of very old vines were left intact.

Rebirth and revival

Slowly, a rebirth of sorts began, with a handful of producers leading a revival.

In 1995, the group successfully petitioned for the classification of Vino de la Tierra Ribera del Arlanza, and eventually, in 2007, they formed the DO Arlanza.

With a profile that’s decidedly Castilla y León, the wines are similar in character to their neighbours in Ribera del Duero, generally displaying the fresher character of Ribera’s Soria sub-zone.

Due to its more northerly latitude and impressive elevation – generally 800m-1,000m, but in some places higher – Arlanza offers intense red wines that are kept fresh by notable acidity.

It’s mostly a region of red wines, dominated by Tempranillo, locally referred to as Tinta del País.

Txakolí

Next to: Rioja

On Spain’s northern coast, the Basque Country (Euskadi in the local language) is one of the most important domestic markets for Rioja wines, which is logical given the gastronomic richness of the Basque region, as well as the fact that it’s right next door.

In fact, part of the Rioja appellation lies within the autonomous community of the Basque Country.

Wine production in the area has a centuries-long history, but disease outbreaks (mainly phylloxera but also powdery mildew) in the late 1800s resulted in a significant loss of vineyards.

As a result, most of the production was reduced to coastal areas, where simple wines with some spritz and low alcohol became something of a local curiosity.

A renaissance began in the 1990s with the arrival of modern technology and a renewed viticultural interest in the region.

In recent years, there has not only been an explosion in the number of producers throughout the three appellations that are dedicated to the production of Txakolí wine, but new styles have also emerged.

White wine revival

The protagonist is still the principal local grape variety Hondarrabi Zuri, but the simple, spritzy whites have now been complemented by single-vineyard wines, richer and aged whites, as well as rosé, red and sparkling wines.

This increase in quality and diversity is part of a revival in white wine production and consumption in the northwest and north of Spain, where Rioja whites have also boomed in popularity.

It’s an important chapter in the story of Spanish gastronomy, of which the Basque Country was an early leading proponent.

Txakolí wines offer racier acidity and a more direct, citrussy palate than their counterparts in Rioja, where Viura dominates and creates white wines of serious weight and ageing potential.

But if you like the freshness and characterful nature of Rioja, it’s worth taking a small stroll to the north to try the wines that play such a central role in the lively bars of Bilbao and San Sebastián.

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