2017 Bodegas Langa Marco Valerio Marcial Garnacha Centenaria Calatayud Spain 750 ml

There may be no other region in the world where old-vine Garnacha can be found at such spectacular values as in Calatayud, Spain. If you love the meatiness and smokiness of the Southern Rhône, this bottle will blow you away at just $25.

Here in the hottest part of the northern Ebro Valley, the rich, characterful wines of producers like Bodegas Breca, El Escocés Volante, and the historic Bodegas Langa have won a place in our hearts. But today, only one from that list is offering a 94-point wine for 50% off.

$50 elsewhere for Langa’s marvelously delineated Marco Valerio Marcial, crafted from 90-year-old vines. Wine Access members pay just $25 for this unoaked Spanish winner, which James Suckling praised in a rave review: 

“Violets and purple berries abound in this ripe and rich garnacha with a composed, structured and very long, firm finish. This has such pristine fruit and great length. There’s a lot to like here.”

This is one of our favorite wines we’ve tasted from Calatayud, and without a doubt among the greatest values, given the old-vine pedigree. Generously perfumed with wild strawberry, black raspberry, and a dose of pink peppercorn. Tightly woven on the palate and brimming with exuberant fruit intensity like black cherry, rolled in spice and touched with cedar.

We discovered the Marco Valerio Marcial release thanks to a Master of Wine friend who was traveling with us through Spain, and insisted we add Bodegas Langa to our list of stops. It was one of the oldest wineries in the region, he told us, run by a fifth-generation family deeply invested in the land.

It was a chilly fall evening when we drove out to the estate, and with spotty reception, we got turned around multiple times in a rental car emitting a pitiful amount of heat, trying both our tempers and our patience. Finally finding our way, brothers Juan and Cesar Langa Gonzalez welcomed us and soon had our blood running warm again with their friendly reception and beautiful rich, red wines. In our worn-out state, it was the bottles that did most of the talking, and boy, did they sing.

The Marco Valerio Marcial is a newer cuvée for an estate whose history dates back to 1867. It struck us as one of the purest and freshest expressions of old-vine Garnacha we’d encountered. It sees no oak, instead aged in concrete eggs to highlight the intensity and terroir-transparency of the grapes. The vines used for the bottling—named after a Roman poet from Calatayud—hail from estate vineyards that reach 3,280 feet in elevation. No pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals are used in farming, capturing the pristine energy and acidity in grapes raised in dry, hot conditions and poor rocky soils.

If you have a cellar full of Southern Rhône or earthy Pinot Noirs, this is a no-brainer addition that is punching way above its weight class for the $25 price tag.