18 May 2021 Alicante DO Outstanding in Guía Peñín 2022
Outstanding scores and an overall high rating of the potential of the area.
The best-known wine guide in Spain publishes the scores for Alicante DO Wines in its 2022 edition. With slightly less participation from wineries due to various obstacles caused by the pandemic, the wines of La Terreta once again show their value in this edition.
Fondillón wines maintain their outstanding performance with Bodegas Monóvar and their “Fondillón 1930” receiving 95 points. “Primitivo Quiles Gran Imperial 1892” also is awarded 95 points. Bodegas Francisco Gómez is awarded 94 points for its “Quo Vadis Fondillón 1972“. And Bodega Las Virtudes achieves 92 points with “Tesoro de Villena Fondillón 1972” together with “Francisco Gómez 1988“.
The Mendoza family is at the top of the ranking with 94 points for its “Santa Rosa 2018” and “Estrecho Monastrell 2019”. Pepe Mendoza’s project, Casa Agrícola, also reaches 94 points with his “Giró de Abargues 2019” (which was last year´s “revelation wine of Spain”), followed by “El Veneno 2019” with 93 points, as well as other references by the family such as “Las Quebradas 2019” or “Finca Xaconero 2018.”
“Fuego Lento 2017” by Bodegas Bocopa receives 93 points. It is followed with 91 points by very diverse wines such as “Tahulla” by Aida i Luis, “Carabibas VS 2018” from Sierra de Cabreras or “Riu Rau Mistela” from Bodegas Xaló.
The Vinessens winery also stands out with 92 points for “Peligrés 2019“, 91 points for “La Viña de Colén 2019” and scored with 90, several other of their wines such as “Sein 2018“, “El Telar 2017” and “Tintorera 2017”.
The Marina Alta subregion make a strong appearance of 90 points with “Insurrecte 2019”, “Renaix la Passió 2020”, and “Renaix de Giró 2020” by Bodegas Riko, “Les Freses 2020” and “Àmfora de les Freses” by Bodega Les Freses and “Nimi Tossal 2017” by Joan de la Casa.
Also within the 90 point category, a wide variety of wines and wineries such as “Bocanegra Dulce 2016” by Francisco Gómez, “Sericis Cepas Viejas Monastrell 2017” and “Galeam Monastrell 2020” by Bodegas Murviedro, “Mo Salinas 2018” by Bodegas Sierra Salinas, “Cesilia Rosé la Réserve 2020” by Casa Sicilia, “Pasión de Monastrell 2019” by Bodegas Sierra Norte and “El Miracle Art 2018” by Bodegas Vicente Gandía.
Once again, the Alicante DO is the area with the highest quality in the Valencian Community and a diverse catalog of types of wines and wineries that, despite the crisis, manage to offer this uniqueness. The Guia Peñín also reinforces their ratings with an article “Alicante and the new interpretation of wine” where it highlights that the area “has practically all the argumentative producers of today: a mini legion of historical wines, fondillones, a great group of wines with a commercial vocation with grapes from all types of climates and origins, and wines from their historic native varieties, Monastrell and Muscat of Alexandria ”. The article reviews virtues such as the small wineries and the work they are doing with local varieties seeking their authenticity or new projects that can revive even further the area.