What to eat with Bobal? Juan Antonio Ponce and the old vines of Manchuela.

Manchuela and the rise of Bobal

Manchuela is a lesser-known region of inland Spain with old vineyards and native grapes. Its signature is Bobal, one of Spain's most widely planted red varieties. Andreas remembers visiting about 20 years ago, when locals told him Bobal was not a quality grape. Juan Antonio credits progress in winemaking for the change: today Bobal can make wines that are fresh, mineral and complex.

The secret, as so often, is old vines. Juan Antonio is the fourth generation of a growing family, and his vineyards are between 40 and 90 years old. Low yields from viñas viejas mean better, more concentrated grapes.

Altitude, biodynamics and a light touch

Spain may be sunny, but Juan Antonio's vineyards sit at 800 to 900 meters, which is what keeps the wines fresh and balanced. Winters can be cold, with snow at altitude, and summers hot. He farms biodynamically, which goes a step beyond organic with a moon calendar and herbal treatments, because he believes the vineyard expresses itself better without artificial products.

His style is the opposite of the heavily oaked, concentrated Spanish reds of the 1990s. Juan Antonio worked with the consultant Telmo Rodríguez in many regions of Spain before returning to his family roots, and he wants the vine and vineyard to be the protagonist, not the oak.

Clos Lojen and El Mirador

Clos Lojen is his entry wine: 100% Bobal from a selection of small old vineyards on different terroirs, without new oak. Andreas finds a beautiful perfume, elegant red fruit and fine spice. El Mirador is a Syrah from his first plantation in 2004. Syrah is not traditional in Manchuela, but it does well there, giving a floral, peppery and slightly meaty wine in the same unoaked, elegant style.

Andreas recalls that his old friend Victor de la Serna was among the first to plant Syrah in Manchuela, and Juan Antonio agrees those pioneers helped make the region known. Both of his wines share one philosophy: elegant, fresh, not dominated by wood, and easy to enjoy with different food, moments and people.

Ibérico schnitzel with a grilled salad

For the Bobal, Andreas uses presa ibérica, a prized cut of Ibérico pork. He flattens it, stuffs it with Pata Negra ham and Manchego cheese like a cordon bleu, breads it in flour, egg and crumbs and fries it in oil and then butter for flavor. On the side is a salad of grilled zucchini, tomato and red onion dressed with sherry vinegar and olive oil, because raw vegetables and fine wine rarely get along.

In schnitzel country people drink high acid whites, but Andreas argues that a fresh, digestible red does the same job. Bobal's crisp acidity and bright red fruit cut through the creamy ham and cheese. Andreas also explains why Ibérico fat, from free-ranging, acorn-fed pigs, is considered so healthy.

Andreas grills the tomatoes too, so no raw tomato flavor meets the wine, and calls sherry vinegar the most refined vinegar to use near fine wine. After more than 20 years of traveling in Spain, he says, the quality of its ham, cheese, olives and vegetables still impresses him.

A blind red and monkfish cheeks

Juan Antonio then brings a bottle from a friend, to be tasted blind. Andreas finds a floral, peppery wine with tobacco, clove, red currant, plum and a hint of leather, possibly made with whole bunches. He makes skewers of grilled monkfish cheeks with Beluga lentils cooked in chicken broth and red wine to bridge fish and red.

Watch to see where Andreas places the wine, why Juan Antonio chose it, and how close the memory game gets.