June 2025 Tinto Club
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La Comarcal 2023
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Spain is a country with 17 autonomous communities, and if we're being honest, at least 16 of them believe they’re underrated. Galicia says the rest of the country doesn’t understand Albariño. Andalucía wonders why more people aren’t obsessed with sherry. And Valencia—well, Valencia is tired of being known only for oranges and paella.
Enter Grillat, a wine that might just shift that narrative. This is a young, red-berried, sun-soaked bottle from La Comarcal, a micro-winery that makes high-altitude, minimal-intervention wines in the interior of Valencia. It’s a wine that shows exactly what’s possible when serious people start paying attention to land that’s long been overlooked all while maintaining a sense of irreverence.
La Comarcal is a collaboration between two of Spain’s quietly brilliant wine minds: Javi Revert (formerly of Celler del Roure, a source of many previous wine club selections) and Victor Marqués (of Casa Castillo).
These are not guys chasing scores or trying to outdo Bordeaux. They’re rooted in Mediterranean viticulture, fascinated by elevation and soil, and laser-focused on identity. Grillat is their playful red: equal parts thoughtful and gulpable, but with an earthy funk to ground it.
La Comarcal’s flagship red wine, Grillat, comes from two plots at 700m in the foot of the Penya Foradà mountains, near the village of La Font de la Figuera, about an hour southwest of the city of Valencia, near the border with Castilla-La Mancha.
Grillat, which translates into something like “a little bit crazy, in a fun way” in the local Valencian language, is made from 85% Monastrell and 15% Garnacha.
2023 was a rollercoaster vintage. A dry winter gave way to spring rains that made the vines push hard early, followed by a hot, compressed summer. The fruit had to work for balance, and in the right hands, that tension creates wines that feel alive. It's a vibrant, energetic red wine featuring a fragrant explosion of flowers, wild strawberry, blueberry, pomegranate and herbs, with a bright palate bursting with acidity and lots of lift and red berry notes. There’s a slight bitter edge, a bit like chewing on the rind of a citrus peel, that brings lift and intention. It’s medium-bodied, with enough crunch to chill down slightly if the sun’s out and you're feeling irreverent. But since sun goes better with lower ABV, it's nice that Grillat clocks in at just over 12.5% ABV. That makes it supremely easy to drink over an outdoors park or deck paella party, especially lightly chilled (which is how we discovered it).
If last month's wine choice Organza was your white-tablecloth, decant-and-debate wine, Grillat is your takeout-on-the-rooftop, fire up a paella burner, talk-too-loud kind of bottle. While it has a sleek label, it doesn’t pretend to be noble and knows where it comes from. Valencia is the land of oranges, paella, and living out loud with a good glass of wine in hand.
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Lagravera Ciclic 2018
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Every once in a while, I come across a wine that expresses something unique and feels like there’s a genuine intent behind its crafting. Not just about fruit or oak, but about a place, a history, and the people behind it. That’s exactly what I get with Lagravera, a small winery in inland Catalonia, near Lleida, where they are quietly doing something pretty remarkable.
This part of Spain was once vineyard country but over the decades, phylloxera, modern agriculture, and rural depopulation took their toll. Vines were ripped out or left to wither. Now, all that remains of that winemaking past are places with names like El Pla de les Vinyes (”Plain of the Vines“) and Botella (“Bottle”), and the odd ancient wine press carved into the rock. That history could have faded completely if not for Lagravera.
ancient wine press carved into the rock / Costers del Segre
Rather than starting fresh, they decided to go back to restore what was nearly lost. One of their most exciting projects is El Vinyet, a vineyard planted in 1889 and somehow still standing. What makes it special is the mix of grapes growing there. We're not talking the usual suspects. This vineyard is home to 24 different varieties, including some that had all but disappeared. Names like Trobat blanc, Picapoll roig de la Noguera, and Malvasia de la Rioja might not be familiar, and grapes like Uva de Fantini, Tortozona tinta, Mandó, and Garnacha roja are so rare, they’ve become something of a viticultural time capsule.
With a lot of care and curiosity, Lagravera is bringing them back to life, not just to preserve them, but to make beautiful, expressive wines that feel connected to where they come from. Everything is farmed organically and biodynamically. In the cellar, the approach is gentle and minimal. Think wild fermentations, skin contact, and small-batch winemaking that lets the fruit (and the story) shine through.
Now, while El Vinyet project is all about preserving the old and rare, Cíclic 2018 Tinto is a is a great example of how thoughtful farming and winemaking can turn a single parcel into something special. It’s made mostly from Garnacha and Syrah, grown in a vineyard that used to be a gravel pit called Viña Nuria. Vinya Núria, set farthest from the Serra Llarga (that long, limestone ridge that defines much of the region) tells a different story. Unlike the other vineyards that benefit from the ridge’s cooling breezes and mineral influence, this plot lies just outside its reach. The soil here shifts to loam and sandy-loam, scattered with gravel that shape the vines in a distinct way. The result is a wine with a character shaped by the warmth and texture of the soil as apposed to the limestone of the Serra Llarga
Cíclic 2018 is beautifully balanced. It’s medium-bodied, with juicy notes of cherry and plum, a little blackberry richness, and a hint of herbal spice. Syrah brings a touch of pepper, while the Garnacha keeps things bright and smooth and there’s also a gentle earthiness underneath it all. The finish is clean, mineral, and quietly complex. This is a seriously food-friendly wine. Think roasted lamb with rosemary, grilled vegetables, mushroom risotto, and of course an aged Manchego. It’s elegant but also relaxed enough for a pizza night.
But what really drew me to Lagravera and why I chose to share this wine is that they’re doing more than just making wine. It’s their connection to the land and the history it holds. They’re reviving landscape, reconnecting with nearly lost history and with a quiet sense of purpose. For me, this is the intention behind great wine. It starts in the field with thoughtful farming and respect for the land, and carries through to the cellar, where that care becomes something honest and expressive. To me that's where Cíclic 2018 comes from. The result is a balanced, beautifully made wine, and has a kind of subtle depth that stuck with me. I loved it, and I think you will too.
Jessica –Wine Dept. Manager
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