Vino de Pago: top wine from Spain

Description

Pago de los Balagueses, Garnacha Tintorera.

What is a Vino de Pago? This is the system established by the Spanish government in 2003, in consultation with the Spanish wine-making community. The aim is to create a higher quality designation. A category above the DO and DOC wines. Spain’s version of ‘Grand Cru’ wines, so to speak.

Vino de Pago only applies to individual vineyards or wine estates and not to an entire wine region. To date, only 14 Pagos have been designated:

What are the requirements:

The Pago must be owned by the wine estate that produces the wines
The Pago must be located in a DO or DOC area.
The Pago must have unique characteristics such as a special microclimate, soil or exposure. These characteristics must distinguish the Pago from surrounding vineyards.

We have been working with Pago de los Balagueses, in the hinterland of Valencia (Utiel-Requena), since spring 2019 and it received the Pago status in 2011. The distinguishing features of this Pago are that it is a single vineyard with characteristic terroir with lots of limestone, at 780 metres altitude, surrounded by pine trees, almond bushes and a selection of wild herbs such as thyme, rosemary and lavender. A plus point of this Pago is that it is one of two certified organic Pagos.

Garnacha Tintorera: Wine made from 100% Garnacha Tintorera, also from more than 30-year-old vines. This is a special variety of Grenache grapes, namely a grape with coloured juice (the juice of most blue grapes is colourless). After soaking and fermentation, the wine matures for about 10 months in oak barrels, most of which are new. It is a ‘Crianza’ type, the wine matures for another year in bottle before it is released for sale.

It is an intense glass of wine: deep, dark purple, almost black colour. An aroma with notes of cassis, balsamic, vanilla and spices. Full and powerful in taste with ripe fruit tones, nice acid structure, soft tannins and a very long aftertaste. A real lovers’ wine!

The wine has an impressive CV: 93 points Guía Peñín 2017, Gold Medal in International Contest of Wines and Spirits CINVE 2016, Gold Medal International Wine Guide Catavinum 2016, Bronze medal Decanter 2016. Vivino: 3,9 (****).