My top 20: Cariñena

Characterful wines with true local identity – Sarah Jane Evans MW relished the task of picking 20 of her favourites made with this lesser-known but now resurgent Spanish variety

Cariñena appears in a number of guises in Spain, among them traditionally as a minor blending variety in Rioja (where it is known as Mazuelo), and in Catalonia (as Samsó). What has driven it to top rankings in recent times is the appearance of singlevarietal bottlings of the Cariñenas of Priorat DOCa. These are from dry-farmed bush vines grown on remarkable slate soils, and some of the vines are more than a century old. Neighbouring Montsant, and Aragón, are also producing spectacular examples. My enthusiasm for the variety and its transformation in Spain has prompted this tasting, which is Decanter’s first focused exclusively on Spanish Cariñena.

The contrast with France is instructive. In the 1960s and later, Carignan was the most commonly planted variety. Today production has shrunk, and it plays a role mainly in Languedoc-Roussillon. True, there are equally rustic versions in Spain. However, not far from the border with France, Cariñena reveals a shining purity, with blueberry, liquorice and graphite flavours. Tannins may be present-togrippy, depending on their management.

What links all the wines is their acidity. Cariñena has a superb savoury freshness, which in Rioja brings structure to classic blends, even in very small proportions – Tempranillo, which is low in acidity, has often benefited from a dose of Mazuelo.

‘ What links all the wines is their acidity: Cariñena has a superb savoury freshness’

Growing recognition

When it launched its elegant new 2016 vintage wine from the Mas de la Rosa vineyard in 2019, Familia Torres highlighted the quality of Priorat’s Cariñena and its global potential. It’s from an exceptional, steep, old-vine site, part belonging to Celler Vall Llach (see ‘Month in wine’, p10), whose Mas de la Rosa 2017 – a rich, aromatic 100% Cariñena with an explosion of black fruit and spices – won Platinum at the DWWA 2020. The Torres wine has some 40% Garnacha, and the contrast between the two is an absorbing study of a vineyard that has the quality to become a Priorat gran vinya classificada, equivalent to grand cru.

Also highlighting Mazuelo’s qualities, in Rioja, Marqués de Murrieta’s Primer Rosé was first launched in 2016. Typically, rosados in Rioja are made from Garnacha or Tempranillo or a blend, but this delightfully pink 100% Mazuelo with the faintest blue tint shows the grape’s potential. It also shows that the variety should no longer be seen as rustic.

Contino has a terrific new red Cariñena from a small parcel called San Gregorio, due for bottling early this year; I have tasted it prelaunch. Winemaker Jorge Navascués, who makes the Contino wine in Rioja and also works in Aragón and Navarra, is emphatic: ‘There’s no doubt to me that this grape is going to be one of the best Spanish varieties in the future. Cariñena is getting ready and stronger to face up to oidium and global warming.’

Cariñena, as Carignan, is now being taken seriously elsewhere in the world, as well. Particularly in Chile, where the Vigno project – an association of producers of the variety with low-yielding old vines – includes Miguel Torres. In Lebanon, too, Domaine des

Tourelles has a particularly fine example. Nevertheless, the verdict must be that Spain has the best selection.

This tasting was my most pleasurable in some time. The wines taste of their terroir, and all of them are individual (blends were also tasted, as long as there was a minimum of 75% Cariñena). They are made by expert winemakers, who have to be committed when working with such a disregarded grape.

Sadly, not all of the wines recommended here are easy to buy – it’s always the case with a wine style or category that is on the cusp of becoming fashionable. The Wine Society is currently waiting on the new vintage of El Escocés Volante’s Mazuelo; however, a good alternative is Beronia’s Reserva Mazuelo 2015, available from The Oxford Wine Co (£23.99).

They may be complicated to find, but these wines are very well worth the search.

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an awarded wine writer and author with a particular focus on Spain. She is the current Chair of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a Decanter World Wine Awards Co- Chair