Palacio de Valencia Reserva 2014

For such a deliciously rich, complex Reserva, now with six years’ maturity, this is terrific value. It was crafted in Valencia by Maria Angeles Camara, who also makes our popular Palacio del Conde range. This, her latest creation, combines red berry Tempranillo and dark spicy Monastrell, aged for a year in oak and a lot longer in bottle. The vineyards lie 50 km inland, where soils are dusty brown and arid in summer and, besides olive trees, little grows beyond gnarled old bush vines. The result is fruit of impressive intensity and a wine of richness and depth, but with lovely elegance too. Decant this red an hour prior to serving if you can. Smooth enough to enjoy by itself, it’s also ideal with chicken, sauced falafel or paella Valenciana.