Recently, we featured Monica Ordonez at our Yankee Spirits winemakers and owners seminar series. Besides her being very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her family's wine company, I was reminded of how great a value Spanish wines are and, in particular, the great value of Ordonez Selections. Their philosophy is to find out-of-the-way wine-growing regions and promote those local varietal grapes from their natural terroir that showcase the natural beauty of these wines. They could easily have been pushed aside and forgotten due to Mega Importers who focus on the usual wine regions of Spain.

"Ordoñez was a pioneer, the first to exploit and represent numerous backwater, under-the-radar viticultural regions of Spain, and have the courage to sell these wonderful wines that have been accepted with great enthusiasm by American wine consumers. His legacy in the history of quality wine from Spain is enormous and unequaled by any other importer," Robert Parker.

Jorge Ordoñez arrived in the United States in 1987 with a personal crusade to highlight Spain's incredible winemaking and grape-growing history, as well as its wealth of very old vine vineyards. He's worked tirelessly to overcome a negative stereotype of Spanish wines, which he attributed to poor storage and transportation conditions. He insisted estates he worked with clean up their wineries, use temperature-controlled shippers at every stage of transit, and was the first wine broker in the United States to have a refrigerated warehouse in Spain. 

Since 1987, Jorge Ordóñez's personal crusade has been to seek out and preserve Spain's rich history of grape growing and winemaking. His philosophy is centered on the belief that Spain's potential lies in its bounty of ancient vineyard sites planted with the oldest clones of indigenous cultivars. Over the years, Jorge has achieved an impressive list of accolades; he was twice named one of the Top 20 Wine Personalities of the Year by Robert Parker, who also named him one of the most influential wine personalities of the past 20 years. 

Today, the family owns five wineries in Spain under the Grupo Jorge Ordóñez umbrella and have become the standard bearer for varieties like Albariño, Godello, Verdejo, Moscatel de Alejandría, and Garnacha in their respective appellations. Jorge Ordóñez Selections is being led into the next generation by Monica & Victor Ordóñez – Jorge's children who look forward to advancing the quality and position of Spain's top wines in the North American marketplace.

"While we are selling wine, what we're ultimately doing is running a small family-owned company. We are so lucky that our father started it and that we are in a position to run and manage a company that has had a lot of success historically. While our father is still super-involved, he now spends most of his time in Spain; the day-to-day operation is up to us. Luckily, our family is really close." Monica Ordóñez

Garnacha is the most planted grape in Spain due to its bountiful nature and tolerance to hot, arid conditions. Nevertheless, unable to secure its position as a fine wine, Garnacha's rising star was eclipsed by Tempranillo, as well as international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot. Jorge Ordonez pioneered an interest in preserving the country's old vines and vinifying them with a more modern approach. He championed the historical origins of Grenache, Aragon. The area has many 100-year-old vines and clonal varieties, which confirms this as its birthplace rather than previously held belief or its origin in Sardinia. That said, clones of Garnacha have moved from Aragon to around Europe and flourished in many countries. Ordonez created modern wineries in Calatayud DO, Campo de Borja DO, the heart of Aragon and the soul of Grenacha.

Located in the sleepy town of Munébrega, Bodegas Breca was founded by Jorge Ordóñez in 2010 with the mission of producing the finest Garnacha in Aragón. Garnacha de Aragón, the clone used to produce the wines of Bodegas Breca, is the most ancient and genetically untouched clone of Garnacha (Grenache) in the world.

D.O. Calatayud has a unique, extreme terroir. The combination of extreme altitudes, diverse slate soils, and drastic climate combine to create a completely distinctive growing region. With Spain's highest altitude to produce Garnacha, Calatayud frequently sees temperature swings of 45°F between day and night. The heat allows the grapes to achieve full ripeness by day, and the cool nights build high acidity in the grapes. The head-trained vineyards were planted between 1900 and 1975 and are dry-farmed, meaning the vines have to dig deep to find nutrients and water. These conditions produce exceptionally balanced wines with a concentration of flavor balanced by acidity.

Bodegas Breca Garnacha de Fuego Vino de Aragón is a gem. A soft, round, supple, liquid gem, but a gem nonetheless, and an inexpensive one at that. The wine is made with 100% Garnacha de Aragón, as mentioned above, the world's oldest Garnacha biotype planted between 1945 and 1985. Organic head-trained mountain vineyards are entirely cultivated by hand. Soils are primarily iron-rich red and black slate and quartz, with a thin calcareous layer. The majority of the vineyards receive no treatments and see minimal human intervention. The winemaking is likewise kept simple, with fermentation taking place with natural yeasts in stainless steel and concrete tanks (the wine is also aged briefly in tanks). A beautifully big, soft, and sweet-fruited Spanish Grenache that Robert Parker called 'a remarkable wine value.'

Garnacha de Fuego is a young, primary fruit expression of the oldest clones of Garnacha in the world from the high-altitude mountains of Calatayud. The altitudes, age of the vines, and slate-dominant soils produce a wine of tremendous character and concentration, balanced by fresh acidity that provides balance, drinkability, and elegant minerality.

"The Value here is ridiculous." Josh Reynolds, Vinous.com

The Breca Garnacha de Fuego has always provided a fresh look in its presentation of this grape variety. While powerful on the palate, it finishes bright and lively. The 2021 vintage is a lovely, flavorful, and well-balanced wine. This wine shines with aromas and flavors of raspberries and blueberries. Enjoy its beautiful fruitiness with BBQ baby back ribs. Wine.com 90 pts



Cherry color, purple rim. Aromas of balsamic herbs, red berry notes, scrubland. Flavors of balsamic, fruity, grainy tannins. Guia Penin 90 pts (Spain's most famous and comprehensive wine guide)

Bodegas Breca

Garnacha de Fuego 2021

As it turned out, we tasted the Breca Fuego after we tasted a well-known Californian Zinfandel-based wine that cost five times as much. I have to tell you, the wines taste nothing like each other. Sorry to disappoint. The interesting part is that the Garnacha did not shrink away from this unequal comparison. Breca Fuego was a deep ruby-red color that went to the rim—aromas of fresh raspberry pastry tart. In the mouth, it was lush red berry and blueberry with hints of ever-crisp apple. Balanced acids kept the fruit juicy, giving the wine a great lift—a lingering sweet tar finish. Fuego is the kind of wine to stock your wine shelf with that looks and tastes much more expensive than it really is.

Regular Price: $13.99

*Sale Price is on 12 or more bottle purchase

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

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Cheers!

John Hannum,

Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

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207 Swansea Mall Dr.

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