DO Utiel-Requena

Where it is

Roughly an hour west of Valencia by road, the land climbs onto a wide plateau. This is Utiel-Requena, named after its two main towns, in the inland west of the province of Valencia. It borders Castilla-La Mancha, and the Cabriel river runs along much of its western edge.

It is a DO of its own, separate from DO Valencia, which covers much of the rest of the province; further south lies DO Alicante. Beneath Requena’s old town lie underground cellars, once used, among other things, to store wine.

Landscape and climate

At roughly 600 to 900 metres above sea level, the plateau feels a world away from the coast. The climate is continental with a Mediterranean touch: cold winters, hot and dry summers, and little rain. Warm days give way to cool nights, and those big swings help the grapes keep their freshness, the lively, mouth-watering side of a wine. Frost and hail are real risks for growers.

Grapes and wines

One grape rules here: Bobal, which covers most of the vineyard. Many of its vines are old bush vines: low, free-standing plants pruned into a goblet shape, with no wires to hold them up. Bobal wines are usually a dark purple-red. Think blackberries and black cherries, with a juicy bite that keeps them lively. You will meet Bobal in two main styles:

• Red, from young, juicy wines with little or no oak (often labelled joven) to rounder, oak-aged ones such as a Crianza.
• Rosado (rosé): the region’s much-loved Bobal rosado, dry, bright and scented with strawberries.

Reds are also made from Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, alone or blended with Bobal. Whites play a smaller part, from Macabeo, Merseguera, Tardana (also called Planta Nova; its name hints that it ripens late), Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

There are bubbles, too. The town of Requena lies within the area where Cava can be made: sparkling wine whose bubbles come from a second fermentation inside the bottle.

At the table

Bobal’s freshness makes it a good companion at the table, from cured meats to rice.

• Embutido de Requena, the area’s cured sausages: a young Bobal red or a rosado.
• Gazpacho, inland style: in the towns of the plateau the word often means a hot, filling stew of game or other meat with pieces of flatbread, nothing like the cold Andalusian soup. An oak-aged Bobal suits it.
• Paella valenciana (rice with chicken, rabbit, flat green beans and garrofó butter beans, with saffron): Bobal rosado is a natural partner.
• Arròs al forn, oven-baked rice with pork, morcilla (black pudding), chickpeas and potato: a young Bobal red with a light chill.
• Arroz a banda, rice cooked in rich fish stock and served with allioli (garlic and olive oil sauce): a dry Cava, whose bubbles and freshness stand up to the garlic.

Firm, oak-aged reds can overpower delicate fish and seafood; with those, the rosado or the Cava is the safer choice.

Good to know

• A DO guarantees where a wine comes from and the rules it was made under. It does not promise a taste.
• A red that names only the DO, not the grape, may well be mostly Bobal, but other grapes and blends are allowed, so check the label.
• The official list of authorised grapes and the exact limits of the area are kept by the DO’s regulatory council, the Consejo Regulador, and can change. The grapes on this page are ones you will often meet, not the full list.
• Cava has its own DO, which covers scattered areas of Spain rather than one region. Requena is one of them, so a sparkling wine from here may say Cava on the label rather than Utiel-Requena.
• Styles vary a lot between producers and vintages: a young Bobal and an oak-aged one can taste like different wines.