This is a dreamy, spicy and smooth Spanish Tempranillo from Bideona, a winery founded in 2018 in Rioja Alavesa. This is one of our best sellers and is made from impressively old vines, many of which were planted in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and the result of the viticulture is incredible concentration

The wine was aged in an adventurously modern combination of French and American oak barrels, all older oak, for five months. 

The name Laderas means hills and refers to the sloping vineyards from which this smooth, softly fruited, deep red wine comes. Bodega Badiola owns 300 parcels of land on the slopes of Sierra Cantabria, in the villages of Villabuena de Alava, Leza, Samaniego, Laguardia, Navaridas and Baños del Ebro. 

The average vine age of is about 50 years and the vines are trained en vaso, referring to the sturdy bush vines, grown without trellising on limestone soils. All grapes are hand picked and the wine is aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels of second and third use, for five months. 

Tempranillo is the king and queen of Spanish grape varieties with over 206,000 hectares in that country’s entire vineyard area, making it the most planted red grape variety and the second most overall after the little known white Spanish grape called Airen. 

This tasty and super affordable, dry Spanish red is made from organically certified vineyards in Uclés in Castile, Spain, where the vines are grown as part of an integrated ecosystem, along with old oak trees. This region's continental climate provides hot sunny days and cool nights, which provide favourable ripening conditions for the Tempranillo grape. 

The grapes in this wine are harvested in the cool of night and early morning, given a light crush and fermented in stainless steel to preserve fruit freshness. Maceration is typically eight to 10 days and no oak is used in the winemaking, so the fruit is hero in this smooth, medium bodied red. 

The name Tempranillo comes from the Spanish word temprano, which means early. It’s apt. Tempranillo is an early grape to bud in spring and it ripens early in autumn. Along with its big bunches of small, thick skinned grapes and relatively big yields (that’s means it provides a lot of grapes to harvest and make wine from), it’s a successful grape to grow. As for the taste, Tempranillo’s character tends to be soft, smooth, bright and fruity. What’s not to love? There’s

Maravedí is the name of an ancient Spanish coin and this wine is an excellent example of a Tempranillo and Syrah blend, made from old Spanish dry farmed and organically certified vineyards. Deep purple with a ruby rim, displaying aromas of red fruit and blackberries with slight spicy notes of freshly ground pepper. Medium bodied and juicy on palate, yet with fine tannins and a refreshing finish.

The continental climate, with sunny days and cool nights, allow for intense fruit and excellent varietal definition, while retaining remarkable freshness. The Organic Grapes are picked at night and in the early morning hours and shipped quickly to a state-of-the-art winery for destalking, light crushing and fermentation under temperature control in stainless steel. Maceration lasts for 8-10 days to achieve a perfectly balanced style without excessive extraction. No oak is used to achieve a pure expression of the combination of Tempranillo and Syrah.

Graciano is one of Spain’s best kept wine secrets - a red grape with thick skins that is a tricky customer to grow, which means there’s precious little of it about, even in the vineyards of the Rioja, where it is one of the traditional ingredients in the wine of the same name.

This is a dark Spanish beauty with soft fruit flavours, medium body and fresh, long finish.

Maravedi is the name of an ancient Spanish coin and this wine is an excellent blend of Chardonnay and Airen (an indigenous Spanish white grape). The flavours are smooth and creamy with Chardonnay strutting its flavoursome, approachable taste in every mouthful. It is made from dry farmed, organically certified vineyards in the La Mancha region of Spain, south of Madrid, which is Spain's largest wine region.

Vallformosa, is a family owned operation that has been around for 150 years. 

Appearance: Pale yellow with greenish reflections in the glass

On the Nose: Good aromatic intensity of fruity aromas, including green apple and fresh herbs like fennel welcome the nose. These fruiter elements also combine with notes of white flowers and citrus in the bouquet to offer complexity.

On the Palate: Vallformosa Cava is a bright sparkling wine with fine persistent bubbles. The palate is balanced and dry while soft, resulting in well balanced acidity and a fruity aftertaste.

About Cava...

Cava is one of the great sparkling wine secrets of the world and you could call it poor man's champagne because it's made the same way, only with slightly shorter aging time and therefore a little less complexity on the palate. Still, given that it costs a fraction of the price and has had its secondary fermentation in the same bottle that you buy it in, this really is superb value for money.

It can be made with grapes grown anywhere in Spain. These days, producers are allowed to use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to make cava but this one is from the traditional Spanish grapes, namely, Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, each of which combines to create a fruity but dry and lightly yeasty fresh taste. A stunner at the price and an extremely fresh, refreshing dry bubbly. Awesome value for money.

Deliciously treacly sweet sherry from a great producer - this is the ultimate liquid match for sticky date pudding or warmed gingerbread, fresh from the oven.

Bodegas Hidalgo - a rare sherry producer, six successive generations...

Bodegas Hidalgo is one of the few independent sherry producers remaining in Andalucia in the south of Spain - the home of sherry. All of its grapes come from its own vineyards, another rarity these days and one that definitely supports the universally high quality of its wines, which are made at Sanlúcar de Barrameda near the Guadalquivir River, at sea level. The continuous exposure to sea breezes bears a strong influence on the quality of the wines and their long aging process, helping to keep barrels moist in the solera system, which creates a slow and steady aging. 

Bodegas Hidalgo produces about 200,000 cases of sherry and brandy every year.

La Gitana is Spanish for the gypsy and is one of the most complex dry sherries in the world, a top notch Manzanilla best enjoyed in its youth. Which is a little bit of an oxymoron for such a complex dry wine made from aged sherry components. 

This is full bodied, fully dry and super complex with salted almond, tangy green olive and notes of cedar all vying for first place in this beautifully integrated fortified wine. 

Bodegas Hidalgo - a rare sherry producer, six successive generations...

Bodegas Hidalgo is one of the few independent sherry producers remaining in Andalucia in the south of Spain - the home of sherry. All of its grapes come from its own vineyards, another rarity these days and one that definitely supports the universally high quality of its wines, which are made at Sanlúcar de Barrameda near the Guadalquivir River, at sea level. The continuous exposure to sea breezes bears a strong influence on the quality of the wines and their long aging process, helping to keep barrels moist in the solera system, which creates a slow and steady aging. 

Bodegas Hidalgo produces about 200,000 cases of sherry and brandy every year.

Txakoli, pronounced cha-coal-ee is a lightly sparkling, dry white wine from the north of Spain, made to drink while it's young (typically within a year of bottling). Its high acidity  and low alcohol make it taste clean, fresh and zingy. It's made from the rare Hondarrabi Zerratia grape, which is a relative of the French white grape, Petit Manseng, which is found not too far north of here in southern France. 

Here's your perfect excuse to eat salted chocolate caramels - one of the world's great fortified wines; Amontillado from a top producer. Bodegas Hildago Amontillado Napoleon is a complex full bodied amber coloured sherry with flavours of caramelised almonds, sandalwood and vanilla. It's a blend made up of Oloroso Faraon, Cream Alameda and PX Triana, all between six and 20 years old, which add to the taste of cedar and sandalwood.

It is excellent served lightly chilled with a platter of aged cheddar and nuts or simply on its own as a late night cap with salted caramel. 

Bodegas Hidalgo - a rare sherry producer, six successive generations...

Bodegas Hidalgo is one of the few independent sherry producers remaining in Andalucia in the south of Spain - the home of sherry. All of its grapes come from its own vineyards, another rarity these days and one that definitely supports the universally high quality of its wines, which are made at Sanlúcar de Barrameda near the Guadalquivir River, at sea level. The continuous exposure to sea breezes bears a strong influence on the quality of the wines and their long aging process, helping to keep barrels moist in the solera system, which creates a slow and steady aging. 

Bodegas Hidalgo produces about 200,000 cases of sherry and brandy every year.

Viura de Cabezadas comes from our youngest vineyards, with an average age of 30 years, planted on calcareous soils. We determine the time on the lees and the type and length of aging individually for each vintage, using a combination of stainless steel, concrete tanks, and used barrels.

Fresh and subtle nose, pure aromas of stone fruit with a touch of white flowers and phosphorus. Light and crisp on the palate, yet with good fruit concentration and a refreshing, dry, and slightly mineral finish.

Exceptionally tasty Albarino made in a bone dry style with fleshy unctuous texture from skin contact. Outstanding flavours and depth. Great white in taste, value and the all important X factor wow.

Fontana Bodegas, who produce this wine, is based in Castilla la Mancha in Central Spain, and the grapes for this cheeky quaffer are sourced from the municipality of Uclés. where they grow at a height of 700-900 metres. The winemaking team consists of oenologist Tomás Buendia and New Zealand based Master of Wine Sam Harrop, and their aim is to produce wines that offer an interesting modern take on local wine traditions, giving both a sense of place and remarkable value.

This is an elegant example of dry Muscat, showing the freshness and balance of high altitude vineyards. Pale, bright yellow, intensely aromatic and expressive on the nose, with aromas reminiscent of lychees, grapefruit and rose petals. Light bodied and very fresh on the palate, with the intense fruit perfectly balanced by the crisp acidity and a dry, mineral finish.

Bideona Vino de Pueblo Villabuena (V1BN4)

Villabuena makes some of our favourite wines, which tend to be a perfect example of the ideal, middle-weight, highly drinkable, yet extremely age-worthy Rioja Alavesa.

Vineyard parcels are on hillsides, around 500 m above sea level, and well protected by the Sierra Cantabria. Ripening is later than in Laguardia but earlier than in Leza, giving the most beautiful balance between freshness, elegance and good fruit concentration. Bideona Villabuena shows precise and pure berry aromas, finely grained tannins and an amazing flow on the palate, even when young.