August 2025 Tinto Club

Baron de Ley Finca Monesterio 2019 Gran Reserva Regular Price: $45.99 Club Price: $39.09 Buy Now

If you’ve been a member of the club for a while, you’ve probably heard us talk extensively about the Rioja Alta and Alavesa subregions, and for good reason. Some of the most prestigious and sought after wineries in Spain are located here. However good Rioja can be found all over, so this month we wanted to feature the oft overlooked third subregion, Rioja Baja. This subregion makes up the Eastern half of the entire region, and is the largest by far. Whereas Rioja Alta is characterized by the highlands and Alavesa by its mountainous home, Rioja Baja can be generally characterized by the flat valley floor, especially as you move southeast away from the Sierra Cantabria mountains. 

The flat land and high clay content of Rioja Baja are ideal for water retention, and its relatively flat landscape maximizes the grapes’ exposure to daylight. This makes an ideal terroir to produce fruit that is plump and beautifully ripe. Not necessarily better or worse, just a different style of Tempranillo. These conditions just so happen to be ideal for bulk wine production, thus the region tends to be over-generalized as ‘simple’. 

Fear not, this month’s wine club is not two buck chuck. In fact, the plush and juicy fruit profile does wonders when combined with Baron De Ley’s style. The winery was established as recently as 1985, but the estate on which it rests has been curating grape vines since the 1500s. The Finca Monastario vineyard is located just outside of Medavia, and lies at a modest 400m of altitude. In classic Rioja Baja fashion, the soil is rich in limestone and clay, and its Tempranillo thrives. 

De Ley’s Finca Monasterio adopts a very modern style of winemaking, opting to begin the wine's aging process with 18 months in new French oak before transferring the wine to giant old foudres for another 6 months. The first set of barrels maximise oxygenation and impart luxurious baking spice notes while the latter, larger format containers allow for harsh tannins to drop out of the wine. The resultant wine is opulent, plush, and generous. Deep blackberry and dark cherry showcase classic Rioja Baja terroir and are shortly followed by licorice, cinnamon and nutmeg notes. The tannins are firm and refined, while the overall texture has soft creaminess. For our San Francisco clientele, this would be perfect for the last few cold summers we’ll probably get in August! 

Josep Grau Vespres 2019 Montsant Regular Price: $42.99 Club Price: $36.54 Buy Now

Whereas the first wine in our Tinto Club this month is a large, modern producer, we thought we’d contrast our second selection with a small, independent producer. In the past we’ve written about the differences between Rioja and Priorat, both large and small. However, it’s important to recognize each of these regions change and shift culturally over time. Rioja switched towards single estate wines in the 1970s, Priorat followed Alvaro Palacios into modernity in the 1990s, and these changes continue today based on consumer markets, accolades, and both cultural and environmental climate. 

However if there is any constant, wine critics have found across time small, labor-of-love outfits tend to make compelling, delicious wine. With that in mind, Josep Grau feels like a steady rock in a current of changing times. Originally from the region, he returned to his hometown in 2003 to exercise the traditional winemaking of the land. Charismatically, Grau seems unbothered by the changing fads of the Spanish Wine zeitgeist. He farms his 26 hectares organically. He vinifies by field blending, or letting his grapes conferment rather than blending separate wines at the end. He only uses old school used Austrian oak foudres in his aging regiments. He notes his Vespres “is a tribute to the growers of Cartoixa de Scala Dei, who planted these varieties over 1000 years ago”. We doubt his winemaking approach varies significantly from those of Cartioxian monks.

‘Tender’, ‘fresh’ and ‘intense’ are words that immediately come to mind when tasting Grau’s Vespres. 60% Garnacha, 20% Carineña, 10% Syrah, and 10% other indigenous varieties, this wine is rounded and plush. The grapes hail from small plots in the southern area of Montsant between Capçanes, Marçà and El Pla de Falset, and are largely older than 50 years of age. Deep red cherry and plum notes are followed by forest air, slatey minerality and spice. Firm, fine tannins allow this wine to stand alone or go with a slew of foods. For pairing, there is an adage in the wine world that “what grows together goes together” and it works tremendously for this wine. Almonds, hazelnuts and olives are native to the regions, so looks for textured salads and summer charcuterie boards. Try pairing with dishes such as Calçots and Romesco or Mixto Paella.