Bodegas y Vinedos Ponce, Manchuela, Clos Lojen 2022 - 75cl
This is the wine that put Bobal back on the map. Juan Antonio Ponce planted his flag in Manchuela in 2005, and Clos Lojen is his calling card: old bush vines, some pushing sixty years, grown high on the limestone-and-clay plateau east of Cuenca where the nights stay cold and the days rarely burn. Bobal used to be bulk fodder; here it is treated like a thoroughbred.
Manchuela sits inland at altitude, and that elevation is everything. The diurnal swing locks in acidity and keeps the fruit crunchy rather than jammy, so a grape once dismissed as rustic comes across fresh and lifted. Ponce farms biodynamically, harvests by hand into small crates, and ferments whole clusters with native yeasts before a gentle six months in large old foudres that add breadth without a splinter of new-oak flavour.
Pour it and you get pure black cherry and cranberry up front, a twist of cracked pepper, then wild strawberry and plum underneath. The palate is silky and savoury, with a chalky, mineral tug that keeps things honest right through a bright, refreshing finish. For under twenty pounds this over-delivers: real terroir character, no make-up. Chill it lightly on a warm evening, or pour it with a midweek roast and watch it disappear.
How to Serve
Serve at 14-16°C, a touch cooler than most reds, in a standard red glass. No decanting needed, though a few minutes of air lets the pepper and wild fruit bloom. A light 20-minute chill in summer suits it well.
Where to Drink It
Noble Rot in Bloomsbury, where offbeat, terroir-driven bottles like this feel right at home. Planque in Haggerston, for its low-intervention leanings. Brat in Shoreditch, where the open fire loves a fresh, savoury red.
Food Pairings
Its acidity and gentle tannin make it a natural with grilled lamb chops and a smear of aioli. It is just as happy alongside a tomato-rich chorizo and butter bean stew on a cold night.
