2024 Ponce Clos Lojen Bobal

Clos Lojen is the entry point into the Ponce world, and it remains one of the greatest "case-buy" bargains in Spain. Sourced from seven different parcels of 40- to 60-year-old vines, it’s designed to be a pure, high-energy expression of Bobal. Because Juan Antonio uses 100% whole-bunches and carbonic maceration - a nod to his time spent in Beaujolais - the fruit stays incredibly bright and "crunchy."

The 2024 season saw lower yields due to an ongoing drought, which has given the wine a bit more structure and muscle than the 2023, yet it maintains its signature 12.5% alcohol. It’s packed with stewed cherries and blood orange, underpinned by earthy savouriness, toasted hazelnuts, and what Mike Bennie describes as a "gravelly haze" of fine tannins.

It’s an effortless, "soif" style of red that sits somewhere between a top-tier Gamay and a spicy Italian red. While it’s built for immediate, high-volume drinking, the limestone-clay soils provide enough complexity and grip to make it a serious food wine. If you're looking for the ultimate value-for-money Spanish red, this is it.

93 points
"This could be my value Spanish wine of the year – nuts! ... Loose but with a gravelly haze through it all, lots of perfume, brightness under the savoury elements. Effortless drinking."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

93 points
"It's a champion for quality/price, one to buy by the case." - Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)