BODEGAS Y VIÑEDOS PONCE
Manchuela, Spain
This small estate was founded by Juan Antonio Ponce in 2005 at the age of 23. His family had been growing grapes in the region for generations but had not previously bottled their own wines. Their estate is situated in Manchuela, due west of Valencia. Bobal is the dominant grape variety in this territory and, together with Ribera del Júcar and Utiel-Requena, Manchuela completes the trio of Denominación de Origen. The Ponce family owns over 50 hectares of vineyard today in the villages of Iniesta, Villanueva de la Jara, Villamalea and Mahora, yet tends to produce small volumes of multiple wines from different parcels. Juan Antonio’s approach is to express the differences between the vineyards and today his estate is farmed according to biodynamic principles.
This is sharp and austere, with lower alcohol and is more mineral than fruit-driven. Incredible value for this 100 percent Bobal. The grapes come from vines that are more than 80 years old, giving the wine depth and complexity.
Ponce Blanco 2022 is a very bright, golden-coloured white with greenish reflections. The nose is not very intense, with hints of white flowers and fruity notes. The palate is light, with volume and a very marked acidity. Balanced finish. RP 94
The best wine he's ever produced. Moravia Agria grapes that represent some 20% of the blend here complementing Bobal. It fermented with 100% full clusters in 4,500-liter oak vats and matured in 600-liter French oak barrels for 12 months. It has finesse and amazing tastiness and is beautifully textured, with a chalky finish. This has to be one of the finest wines in central Spain. RP 98
This wine boasts vibrant acidity, delicate tannins, and a pleasing finish, with a subtly bitter aftertaste. The entry is friendly and silky tannins are marked, a presence of red fruits. Appropriate acidity, medium body but well balanced. Medium-long finish.
The P.F. shows the purity and potential of Bobal from ancient ungrafted vines (P.F. stand for "pie franco," which in the Spanish language means "ungrafted") from limestone-rich soils at 900 meters in altitude in a textbook Mediterranean vintage. The wine is complex and mineral with a chalky sensation, with supple tannins and great length. It fermented with 100% full clusters in open-top 4,500-liter French oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in those same vats for 10 months. RP 95+
La Xara is the latest bottled vintage of their pure Garnacha from a vineyard that benefited from the extra rain from the year and ripened slowly to perfection. They think they achieved more Garnacha typicity here but keeping the freshness and fluidity. This is austere and serious, with a reticent nose, contained ripeness and a sharp and mineral palate more in the style of a Garnacha from Gredos. RP 93
The Monastrell red Depaula comes from vines at 700 meters in altitude on very poor soils, and sometimes the grapes don't ripen properly; but that was not the case in 2021, when the vines had enough water to ripen all the grapes thoroughly and produced a wine with very pure varietal character. It's fresh, balsamic and herbal, with a limestone core that delivers length and freshness coupled with a juicy Mediterranean character. Really good value. RP 92
The single-vineyard red Pino is intense and pure, with character and balance. It was produced with the Bobal grapes from a plot of one hectare of 40-year-old vines at 800 meters in altitude, fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts in oak vas and matured in oval 3,500-liter oak foudre for 10 months. A great wine that has mellow acidity and good freshness.
This is sharp and austere, with lower alcohol and is more mineral than fruit-driven. Incredible value for this 100 percent Bobal. The grapes come from vines that are more than 80 years old, giving the wine depth and complexity.
Ponce Blanco is a very bright, golden-coloured white with greenish reflections. The nose is not very intense, with hints of white flowers and fruity notes. The palate is light, with volume and a very marked acidity. Balanced finish. RP 94