Bodegas Frontonio, Valdejalon, El Jardin de Las Iguales Macabeo 2019 - 75cl
Macabeo rarely gets to be the star — it's usually the quiet workhorse behind a Cava blend or a Rioja Blanco. Fernando Mora MW set out to prove it could carry a great wine on its own, and El Jardín de las Iguales is his case for the prosecution. The fruit comes from a single amphitheatre of old vines planted around the turn of the twentieth century, sitting at 700 metres on slate and limestone in Valdejalón, a wild, high corner of Aragón most people have never heard of.
The winemaking is deliberate and slow: whole-cluster pressing, wild-yeast fermentation, then a long élevage in large old oak foudres before a further spell in used barrels. Nothing hurried, nothing that shouts. The 2019 is ripe but taut — sharp citrus over white blossom, an aromatic herbal lift, and a whisper of smoke and flint that surfaces on the finish.
In the glass it's broad and saline, with a chalky grip that gives the wine real backbone. There's depth and layer here, the acidity keeping everything precise and salivating rather than heavy. This is white wine as a serious, ageworthy object — built to reward another five to ten years in the cellar, though it's already singing.
How to Serve
Don't over-chill it. Around 11–13°C in a large Burgundy-style glass lets the texture and flinty complexity show. Decant a young bottle, or give it a good half hour of air.
Where to Drink It
Barrafina for its Spanish cooking and seriousness about wine. Noble Rot, whose list adores exactly this kind of mineral, old-vine white. Sabor in Mayfair, for grilled seafood and a bottle worth lingering over.
Food Pairings
Turbot on the bone, roasted with a little butter, is the dream match. It's also lovely with grilled langoustines or a plate of aged Manchego.
