Why it matters
The producer
At Valdepeñas, American oak barrels support crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines. In La Mancha, the winery in La Puebla de Almoradiel focuses on young wines from indigenous and international grape varieties.
Félix Solís is the family owned company behind these two production centres. Its range moves between wines intended for early release and bottles shaped by time in oak and bottle. Its Spanish portfolio is built around different grape combinations, ageing categories and cellar roles.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Valdepeñas and La Mancha are the named production areas in central Spain. Valdepeñas carries the traditional ageing categories, while La Mancha is associated here with young wines from both local and international grapes.
The La Mancha winery sits in La Puebla de Almoradiel, a place with a long tradition of grape growing and winemaking. Vines there are traditionally grown as widely spaced bush vines. Trellising and irrigation are also permitted under the region's D.O. rules, giving growers different ways to manage canopy exposure, water supply and grape ripening.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The Solís family works in partnership with family owned vine growers across a broad vineyard network. At Valdepeñas, the site can receive 7.5 million kilos of grapes daily and has winemaking capacity for 175 million kilos.
The La Mancha facility covers 50,000 square metres, houses 3,000 American oak barrels and bottles 6,000 bottles per hour. The scale supports young wine production, bottling and the barrel ageing required for crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines.
Wines to know
The range in view
Mucho Mas Red Blend combines Tempranillo, Grenache and Syrah. Its grapes come from several Spanish wine growing origins and old vines harvested by hand. Mucho Mas Organic Syrah is a single variety Syrah from VdlT Castilla.
Viña Albali Reserva is a Tempranillo made from grapes selected from low yield old vineyards. It is the oak and bottle aged Reserva wine in this group, placing it alongside the younger releases as a separate ageing style.