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Description
"The wines have achieved a level of refinement, elegance and purity that makes them overdeliver for the prices asked. Ponce's wines overall could be the biggest bargains in Spain! Bravo!"
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)
Juan Antonio Ponce has built his reputation on a single premise: that his local variety Bobal is capable of world-class wine rather than just simple, quaffing bulk wines and he's doing one hell of a job!
Based in the high-altitude plateau of Manchuela, Ponce works with 80-year-old, dry-grown family vines planted in limestone and clay soils. By applying a "Beaujolais-style" philosophy - 100% whole-bunch fermentation and carbonic maceration - he has successfully stripped away the heavy, tannic reputation of the variety.
The result is a lineup of reds that offer some of the best quality-to-price ratio in the Old World. While his peers may prioritise volume, Ponce focuses on low-yield, artisanal viticulture that produces "crunchy" red fruit, bright perfume, and a sophisticated mineral skeleton. From the high-energy Clos Lojen to his complex single-parcel releases, these wines consistently overdeliver, providing the structural poise of Northern Rhône Syrah or fine Gamay at a fraction of the cost. He has effectively redefined Bobal as a grape of immense value and finesse.
2024 Ponce Estrecha Bobal
La Estrecha is consistently one of the most sought-after wines in the Ponce stable, and for good reason. The name refers to the "narrowness" of the vineyard - a high-density, 75-year-old plot squeezed between a forest and the La Casilla vineyard at 870 meters.
While technically Bobal-dominant, the site includes a 10% mix of other varieties like Moravia and the white Marisancho, which Juan Antonio believes are essential to the wine’s signature freshness and elegance.
The 2024 is a standout, even by Ponce’s high standards, earning a massive 98-point review from The Wine Advocate. Fermented with full clusters and aged in large 5,000-liter oak vats, it avoids the heavy grip sometimes associated with old-vine Bobal. Instead, it’s a wine of serious nuance and detail.
You get intense black cherry and plum, but they are framed by Rhône-like complexity: tar, olive, dried herbs, and wildflowers. The palate is defined by very fine, chalky tannins and a limestone-driven minerality that provides a silky texture and incredible persistence. It’s a complete, world-class red that rivals the finest wines of the Northern Rhône or Burgundy for pure finesse.
98 points
"This is always one of my favorite wines here, irrespective of the price. Here, the varietal blend and possibly the soils make it very elegant, complex and complete, with very fine chalky tannins and less grippy than those from the Pino. This could very well be the highlight from the 2024 vintage."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)
2022 Ponce Pino Bobal
95 points
"With the idea to achieve a more serious age-worthy red, it fermented in 4,500-liter oak vats and matured in a 3,500-liter oval oak foudre... This was the more reductive of the 2022s that I tasted; the wine is more austere and feels a bit more rustic in the palate, but it was bottled only two months before I tasted it. 4,000 bottles were filled in August 2023."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)
95 points
"A striking bobal, with mineral, white pepper, dried herbs and masses of fresh dark cherries and a reductive, meaty note that reminds me of lard. Pristine and bright on its medium-to full-bodied palate with a robust bobal structure that’s sturdy and nebbiolo-like, but fleshier. Fresh and pristine, with an absence of wood tannin. There is a lot of vibration and succulence, and a long, crunchy finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink from 2026."
- James Suckling
2024 Ponce P.F. Bobal
96 points
"The 2024 P.F. is ungrafted Bobal ("P.F." stands for "pie franco" in the Spanish language and means "ungrafted"). This is somehow earthier and darker in character, complex and nuanced, serious, a little closed, showing the more austere profile of the year and the soils. This has nuance, complexity, depth and purity of flavors, with very good precision. This has the juiciness but with the concentration from the smaller bunches delivered by the ungrafted vines, with fine-grained, polished tannins. This is going to improve with time in bottle, which I think will be more in the direction of a Northern Rhône than a Burgundy."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)
94 points
"Deep yet very fresh nose, with a stemmy, herbal note to its complex melange of bramble and wild cherry fruit. Round, fleshy and full-bodied, with tight but melted tannins slowly making themselves felt on the palate. Chewy, powerful finish, with savory herbs and dark cherries. From organically grown grapes. Drink from 2026."
- James Suckling
| Type | Red |
| Body | Medium Bodied |
| Variety | Bobal |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Manchuela |
| Size | 750ml |
| Vintage | 2024 |
| Closure | Cork |
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Common Questions
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For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
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Put simply: the box discount is already baked into the price.
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