La Atalaya del Camino Cuvée Especial 2022
Garnacha Tintorera, a very personal variety that stands out from the rest
The Gil family have created some of the best wines in the country, such as El Nido in their native region of Jumilla. At the start of the twenty-first century, they expanded into other regions, where they continue to demonstrate their expertise and commitment to local varieties. In the D.O. Almansa, they make the most of the unique Garnacha Tintorera grape, one of the country’s best native varieties. This is evidenced by the excellent La Atalaya del Camino Cuvée Especial 2022, following on from the success enjoyed by the previous vintage. It was created jointly by the winery and Vinoselección’s technical team.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Grape variety
85% Monastrell, 15% Garnacha tinta
Capacity (cl)
75
Bottling
07/2023
Sugar
2.5
Alcohol content (% vol.)
14.5
General Information
La Atalaya del Camino Cuvée Especial 2022 is made from Garnacha Tintorera, the most highly appreciate native variety in the D.O. Almansa and also one of the best Spanish varieties. Garnacha Tintorera is a particularly unusual variety unlike any other and the only grape with coloured flesh (violet). Fifteen percent of another local grape, Monastrell – the star variety of the wines of Spain’s southeastern coastal region – completes the blend.
The grapes come from vineyards planted in calcareous soils at an altitude of between 700 and 1,000 metres. After being selected, they were fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels. The result is a unique and complex red with great structure and intense pigmentation, bursting with fruit and elegance on the nose and palate, and ending with a long, smooth finish.
It's preceded by the success of the previous vintage, the Cuvée Especial 2021, which you’ll only find at Vinoselección as it was designed jointly by the winery and Vinoselección.
Bodegas Atalaya (2007) is part of Juan Gil Bodegas Familiares. Miguel Gil heads this thriving group, which is run by the fourth generation of a family of passionate grape growers and winemakers. It’s been 100 years since his great-grandfather Juan Gil Jiménez founded the family bodega (Bodega Juan Gil) in the centre of Jumilla. In 2001, Miguel Gil took over the relaunch and modernisation of the Juan Gil family winery and founded El Nido.
After establishing El Nido, the Juan Gil Bodegas Familiares group began to grow steadily, expanding into other D.O.s and always focusing on local grapes. In 2007, the Gil family founded Bodegas Atalaya in the small D.O. Almansa (Albacete).
Bodegas Atalaya is located in Paraje Atalaya, 3 km north of the town of Almansa. Its vineyards grow at an altitude of 700 m, in an area with poor limestone soils and a continental climate with low rainfall, ideal conditions for obtaining low yields and quality grapes that produce wines with a high concentration of colour and aromas.
La Atalaya del Camino Cuvée Especial 2022 (D.O. Almansa) is ideal with lamb hotpot or oxtail stew.
The winery
Bodegas Atalaya is part of Juan Gil Bodegas Familiares. Miguel Gil is the most prominent figure of this thriving group, managed by the fourth generation of a lineage of passionate winemakers and viticulturists. Since his great-grandfather Juan Gil Jiménez founded the family winery (Bodega Juan Gil) in the center of Jumilla, 100 years have passed. In 2001, Miguel Gil took charge of the relaunch and modernization of the family winery Juan Gil and founded the winery El Nido.
After the creation of the winery El Nido, the group Viñas Familia Gil (formerly known as Juan Gil Bodegas Familiares) began to grow significantly, expanding into other designations of origin and always focusing on native grape varieties. In 2007, the Gil family arrived at the small D.O. Almansa (Albacete) and founded Bodegas Atalaya.
Bodegas Atalaya is located in Paraje Atalaya, 3 km north of the town of Almansa. Its vineyards grow at an altitude of 700 m, on low-fertility calcareous soils and in a continental climate with scarce rainfall, ideal conditions for achieving low yields and high-quality grapes with great concentration of color and aromas in the wines.