Viña Jaraba, Vino de Pago D.O.P. (La Mancha, Spain) Crianza 2019 ($15, Grapes of Spain / Aurelio Cabestrero)

Viña Jaraba is among the most high-value producers not only within Spain, but across the entire world, and this is just the sort of bottle to prove that point. The straight 2022 Cosecha release is delicious and remarkably complex for $13, and yet this wine — for just two bucks more — has three additional years of aging, which were hugely helpful in giving it time to soak up a heftier oak load and now offer terrific integration and even some tertiary aromas and flavors thanks to time in cask, tank, and bottle. The blend is 80% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot, and though this was sourced from a general region in Spain that is notoriously sunny (and hot), the wine shows no hint of over-ripeness or “raisining.” This is a high-end estate that merits its Vino de Page designation rather than being lumped in with other wines from La Mancha, and at $15, it is just a flat-out world beater. For that matter, it is also a $25 Rioja Crianza beater.
92 Michael Franz