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Wine Review: Rafael Cambra 2018 “Soplo” Garnacha

I love hunting for new wines to try, but even I can get overwhelmed when looking for something I’m less familiar with. Especially when I go wine shopping at Wine and Beyond, which has a massive selection to choose from. But I knew I wanted a Garnacha and I knew they would have the best options, so off I went.

There’s not a lot of single-varietal Garnacha out there, but there were enough on the shelf to make it tricky to decide which one to go with. So I picked the safe bet – the only one with a 90 point gold label (from Wine Advocate). It helped that it was only $17.99!

I chose the “Soplo” Garnacha.

With a bit of research post-tasting, I learned that “Soplo” is made by Rafael Cambra, an independent winemaker and small producer. His vineyard sits in the small village of Fontanars dels Alforins, in Valencia, Spain.

I love that we are able to get wines from smaller producers that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to find!

THE LOOK

Soplo was much richer in colour than any of my previous experiences with Garnacha. It was medium in intensity, but the hue was highly pigmented. I’d call it ruby, but it did start to lean ever so slightly towards the purple side.

THE AROMAS

Like the colour, the aromas were pronounced as well.

It was notably fruit forward, with both red and black fruits. Plum, black cherry, blueberry, red currant and red licorice all came to the forefront.

Behind that, it was balanced nicely with the florals of hibiscus, and the light spice of white pepper.

THE PALATE

The flavours on the palate mirrored the nose, and it was a very well balanced wine.

It sat at the medium mark across the board for body, acid, tannin, and alcohol (13%).

(My fiancé would have said light tannins, but that’s because he likes his red wines as chewy and grippy as he can get them!)

You may think that all that “medium” makes it sound “average”, but it certainly wasn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine, and let me tell you, it sure disappeared fast after the tasting was done!

We planned to pair it with our lasanga, but we had to split the final glass just to make it to dinner time!

CONCLUSIONS

I’ve already stated that Soplo gets major brownie points for it’s balance and intensity of aromas and flavours.

I love that it had so much more “oomph” than I was expecting, without being abrasive. Even my tannin-loving fiancé kept coming back for more.

But the complexity of aromas was definitely the star of the show for this wine.

And the length was able to hang in there too! It didn’t go on and on forever, but I’d at least give it a half point.

Overall, I’d say it’s an excellent wine and I would definitely recommend you pick some up if you can find it.