“Superb and really good value.” - The Wine Advocate, 93 points

We enjoy testing proverbs to see if they can withstand rigorous analysis under experimental conditions, and so far, we have managed to disprove quite a few of their claims. We have observed numerous clouds without silver linings, we have gathered a wealth of evidence showing that laughter is not the best medicine and we found that every single pot reached boiling point regardless of whether it was being watched or not. We also tested the old saying, “You don’t always get what you pay for, but you never get what you don’t pay for” and this turned out to be the hardest nut to crack, but we finally did it, thanks to this wine. It gave us a singularly wonderful ‘fine wine’ experience, but without the associated price tag. At £15.95, it’s just remarkable value and Jancis Robinson and The Wine Advocate both agree (see below)!

The Wine Advocate also says that it has “a spectacular nose”, but it’s not the easiest nose to describe, and as I falteringly attempt to do so, I can hear Cyrano de Bergerac’s words ringing in my ear, after The Viscount had made a feeble attempt to describe Cyrano’s nose, to which Cyrano offered a string of more original alternatives:

“Such, my dear sir, is what you might have said,
Had you of wit or letters of the least jot:
But, oh, most lamentable man! Of wit
You never had an atom, and of letters
You have three letters only! They spell Ass!”

I clearly have not wit or letters of the least jot. Lucia has manged to express it quite well through interpretive dance, but you will have to take my word for that. It’s a little bit smoky, but only a light wisp, like gunsmoke, there are flowers too, violets maybe, a twist of white pepper, and forest berries after the rain, “a bitten lip” (according to Tamlyn Currin), but everything is so harmonious that it’s hard to pick out individual aromas and I guess that is when a wine is at its most interesting.

In the glass, it looks like a Pinot Noir, as it’s morello cherry-red and translucent, but it leans back towards Spain in terms of flavour, with a lovely cold stone mineral aspect that enlivens it as much as the natural acidity and it puts you in mind of those Raul Perez wines from Bierzo, but there’s more fruit in the centre, it’s less edgy and nervy than those, so it’s not wholly dissimilar to a New Zealand Pinot Noir. Oh dear! I haven’t conveyed this very well at all. To describe myself, I have three letters only. 13.5% alc. 60% Bonicaire and 40% Monastrell. Drink now-2028.

Vegan-friendly

Press review:

The Wine Advocate: “The 2022 La Lloma is their young red from old vines, a blend of 60% Bonicaire and 40% Monastrell from head-pruned vines planted in 1946 and 1979 that they took over six years ago and had to recover. The varieties fermented separately, the Bonicaire with 100% full clusters and carbonic maceration and the Monastrell with 30% full clusters, and then they aged separately in used 500-litre barrels for two months before being blended and put back in barrel for another four months. It has 13.5% alcohol and notable freshness and acidity, with a spectacular nose, perfumed, floral, fresh and elegant, and a medium-bodied palate, fine-boned, with chalky tannins and very good grip. It's superb, and a really good value too. Drink now-2028.” 93 points

JancisRobinson.com (Tamlyn Currin): “Someone told me once that I can’t write, ‘it smells like blood’ in a tasting note because that would put people off. Unless, I’d argue, you have a little bit of vampire in you. I do. I think. I like to suck the marrow out of bones. I like this scent in a wine, that is wild and dangerous and a little bit feral. It’s the smell of rusting iron on the hinges of an abandoned cellar door. It’s the smell of raw, rain-drenched earth on the edges of forests with humus-dense, red-earth-rich soils. It’s the scent and taste of a bitten lip. It’s the taste of the tang of wrought iron, cold and old and curled around windows and basement stairs in once-aristocratic Victorian mansions. It’s what his hands smell like when he’s been in the garden with a spade, for hours, in spring. It’s a vulnerable smell and it tastes like licking tears off someone’s cheek. Blood is beautiful. It’s crimson and it’s calligraphy. It’s the ink of life. It’s what this wine tastes like. Very Good Value. Drinknow-2028.” 17 points

Customer comments:

"Just tasted the la lloma and loved it!" - Mrs. G.H.

“Really like La Lloma. Great choice. Very much to our taste.” - Mr P.C.

“Had a bottle over the last 2 evenings and it was stunning, I reckon it would have been even better on day 3.  Great find, thanks!” - Mr N.J.

“I really enjoyed the La Lloma - great value I reckon!!” - Mr. A. T.