If I asked you to name the largest wine growing region in Spain, what would you guess? Rioja? Ribera del Duero? Navarra?

Up until a week or so ago, I wouldn’t have had a clue. Who would have guessed it’s La Mancha? With 445,000 acres (695 square miles) under vine, it is not just the largest wine region in Spain — it’s the largest in the world. I don’t spend much time drinking wine from Spain, so I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the region and its wines through a small tasting.

First some background on La Mancha. Despite being such a large region, I was surprised at how few grape varietals are commonly grown there. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cabernet, Moravia, Merlot and Syrah constitute the major red varietals while Airen, Macabeo, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay make up the white wines. La Mancha has hot summers with little rain (only 12-16 inches per year) and lots of sun, creating wines with expressive fruit and medium-to-high density.

As I began learning about the region, it became apparent that they’re going through a makeover of sorts. This isn’t new to the Spanish wine industry either. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like every region in Spain has reached out to the American wine consumer over the past 2-3 years with claims of “unbeatable quality-to-price ratios” (a wine consumer’s most coveted metric) and a “new focus on quality over quantity.”

La Mancha is no exception. They seem to be trying to tear down the preconceived notion that they aren’t a serious wine region but in fact can compete with more respected, highly coveted wines of Priorat, Rioja and Ribera del Duero.

I tried six wines from La Mancha, four of which I thought to be very good to excellent, one was flawed, and one missed the mark for me. Check out my tasting notes below the fold.

2010 El Progreso S. Coop. de C-LM La Mancha Ojos del Guadiana
Aromas of lemon with lots of sulphur on the nose. The palate was firm, crisp and packed with citrus and floral tones. Moderate acidity on the finish would make this a pleasant pairing with light chicken, pork and seafood dishes. 86pts

2009 Olimpo La Mancha Privilegio
Incredibly perfumed nose of juniper, lavender and floral tones. The palate is sleek and silky with sweet lemon, fresh herbs and mineral notes. The finish has moderate acidity and would seemingly pair well dishes that have citrus in them…thinking lemon chicken would be great with this. Very interesting wine. 88pts

2010 Abadia Mercier La Mancha Vintage Especial
This is a pretty dark wine that has a big nose of cherry and cranberry. The palate is juicy and exuberant with subtle coffee, dense red fruit with a distinct sweetness to it. The finish was muscular with drying tannins and low-to-medium acidity. I thought this was too unbalanced for me with the oak acting as a disruptive force to the fruit. 78 pts

2010 Los Galanes La Mancha
The nose had a good deal of brett to it with underlying black and red fruit. The palate is silky with nice cranberry and tobacco notes. I think the brett got in the way a bit for this wine, but its foundation seemed polished and interesting. NR

2010 Viento Aliseo La Mancha
Perfumed nose of violets, black fruit and subtle tobacco. More reserved and floral on the palate I thought this had some really nice charm. The dark fruit on the palate was spicy and worked well with the medium tannins and medium acidity. 87 pts

1995 Vinicola de Castilla Tempranillo La Mancha Gran Reserva Señorio de Guadianeja
This has a reductive nose with plum, subtle anise, and baking spices. The palate fine, but still very young with smooth tannins underlying silky red fruit, dried rose petals and subtle cherry tobacco. The wine’s youth is surprising to me – I think this will last for a long time as its tannin and acid levels are both moderate-to-high. 89 pts

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Overall, I was impressed with the wines. I usually prefer wines with earthy influences (or as my buddy Joe in DC likes to say, “Tooch likes dirt wines”) and delicate composition so I was a bit skeptical that these would hit my sweet spot. Their elegance and complexity surprised me and I’m eager to seek out other wines from this region. Something I haven’t touched on yet — but these wines are usually quite affordable, so they offer both the budget-conscious and savvy wine shopper some nice options.