2024 Ponce Clos Lojen Bobal

Tucked away in Manchuela, roughly two and a half hours south of Madrid, Juan Antonio Ponce is quietly producing some the best value Spanish wines. After honing his craft under Telmo Rodriguez and spending a formative stint in Beaujolais, Juan Antonio returned to his family's 80-year-old vineyards in Iniesta to prove that the often-maligned Bobal grape could be a vehicle for world-class elegance rather than just rustic bulk wine. By farming 70 hectares of high-altitude, dry-grown vines with incredibly low density, he maintains a meagre average yield of just 2 tonnes per hectare, resulting in a modest annual production of 170,000 bottles that prioritise concentration and freshness. His signature move is a 100% whole-cluster fermentation for all his reds, a technique that, combined with the region's nutrient-rich soils and 800m+ elevation, produces wines that are remarkably fragrant, poised, and powerful.

Light, juicy and very energetic with chalky tannins and lively acidity finishing dry and dusty with some tang.

Deep black dark red core with a vibrant dark red hue. Fragrant rose petal, red liquorice and fresh herb scents are complimented by subtle sour to red cherry, earth and spice notes. Light, juicy and very energetic, red cherry, red liquorice and red plum fruits are framed by fine, chalky tannins and lively acidity. Earth, dried herb and spice elements are also evident. Finishes dry and dusty with some tang.
Drink over the next 3-4 years.
Alc. 12.5%

Other Reviews....
The super-affordable 2024 Clos Lojen comes from a year that continues the warm and dry conditions of 2022 and 2023 but with lower yields and very healthy grapes. It fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts in open-top and well-seasoned 4,500-liter oak vats and matured in a combination of oak vats of different sizes—4,500-, 10,000- and 15,000-liter ones—for six months. Each plot was harvested at the right time, which seems to have increased precision in the cuvée, a fruit-driven, primary and juicy red with similar alcohol as in previous years, 12.5%, a pH of 3.6 and 5.7 grams of acidity. This is a lot more serious than a young and juicy red; it has fruit but with a complexity of flavors, a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It's approachable and ideal with food, but it also has the potential to keep in bottle. It's a champion for quality/price, one to buy by the case. It has one of the lowest production volumes in recent times, 45,000 bottles. It was bottled between April and June 2025. Drink 2026-2030.
93 Points
Luis Gutiérrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Manchuela locale. A stint with Telmo Rodriguez, a stint in Beaujolais, hello Lapierre, amongst family properties at home in Spain, of smaller scale. Whole bunch winemaking here. This could be my value Spanish wine of the year – nuts!
Soft, sweeping red wine of earthy savouriness under stewed cherries, blood orange, toasted hazelnuts, black pepper and wet, sweated, Italianate herbs. An almost soif gamay feel to the wine, loose but with a gravelly haze through it all, lots of perfume, brightness under the savoury elements. Effortless drinking. Drink 2026-2030.
93 points
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front