Description

Ancestral Alicante Bouschet | Yecla, Spain

Ancestral Alicante Bouschet is a bold, deeply coloured red from Fernando Galvañ, made from 100% Alicante Bouschet — or Garnacha Tintorera as we know it here in Spain. It’s a wine with plenty of personality: rich, dark and generous, but with enough freshness to stop all that intensity from becoming too much.

The aromas are wonderfully inviting, with ripe blackberry and blackcurrant alongside fig, red grapefruit and a touch of balsamic freshness. Give it some time in the glass and you’ll find smoky, toasted notes beginning to emerge from the oak.

On the palate, the first impression is rich and rounded, followed by dark forest fruit, vanilla, coffee and a subtle touch of tobacco. Good acidity keeps everything balanced, while the tannins give the wine structure and lead into a long, warming finish.

The wine spends 8 months in new French oak followed by another 8 months resting in bottle, giving it polish and complexity while keeping that wonderfully ripe, dark fruit at its heart.

This is one for lovers of proper, full-flavoured reds. Pour it with a steak, slow-cooked meat or a strong mature cheese and give it a little time in a large glass — it has plenty to show.

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🍇 Key Details

• Region: Yecla (Spain)
• Grapes: 100% Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera)
• Vineyards: Selected vineyards at 735 meters, minimum 30 years old
• Ageing: 8 months in new French oak followed by 8 months in bottle
• Alcohol: 15% Vol.
• Style: Rich, full-bodied, fruity and powerful
• Serving Temperature: 16–18°C
• Contains Sulfites

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🍷 Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Deep ruby red with an intense, almost opaque colour
• Aroma: Ripe blackberry, blackcurrant and fig with red grapefruit, balsamic notes and a gentle smoky character
• Palate: Rich and rounded with dark forest fruit, vanilla, coffee and tobacco, balanced by fresh acidity and a long, toasted finish

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🍽 Food Pairing

• Grilled steak
• Roast beef
• Venison and game
• Slow-cooked meat dishes
• Mature hard cheeses
• Manchego cheese

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💎 Why We Love It

Big, dark and delicious, with bags of ripe fruit and lovely coffee, vanilla and smoky notes. A great bottle when you’re in the mood for a proper, full-flavoured Spanish red.

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About the Producer

Ancestral forms part of the more exclusive range created by winemaker Fernando Galvañ, whose wines are produced through Bodegas Maquiavelo and his Finca Ancestral project in the Altiplano between Yecla and Jumilla. The Ancestral collection focuses on distinctive wines made in small quantities, including Alicante Bouschet, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and old-vine Monastrell.

Fernando’s approach with Ancestral is very much about selecting individual vineyards and varieties that can stand on their own. For Alicante Bouschet, he works with mature, low-yielding vineyards at 735 meters above sea level, selecting fruit specifically for quality and concentration.

Alicante Bouschet is particularly suited to this style. Known locally as Garnacha Tintorera, it is unusual because both its skin and its flesh are coloured, which helps explain the extraordinary depth of colour and concentration you see as soon as this wine hits the glass.

The wine also picked up a Silver Medal at VinEspaña 2025, where it was entered by Bodegas Maquiavelo as Ancestral Alicante Bouschet & Fernando Galvañ.