Each month we’ll be getting out the chalkboard to teach you about an aspect of our wines in greater depth. This month find out more about the Botijo range.

The aim of the Botijo range is simple: to allow everyone to drink a Bodegas Frontonio wine, and experience a fresh, fruity, fluid take on Garnacha from Aragón. We want it to be a wine that everyone enjoys and a flagship for the region.

However, just because it is less expensive than some of other wines, that doesn’t mean we cut corners in the production. It is a wine of limited production (around 85,000 bottles annually across 3 different wines) all hand-harvested from our own dry-farmed vineyards, cultivated on traditional bush vines using organic techniques. The vines – of between 20 and 78 years of age – are located around Épila, around 450m altitude, on plots of alluvial soils that belong to Bodegas Frontonio or to the parents of our winemaker Mario.

The name comes from the earthenware pot that is used to cool water, a vessel adapted to Spain’s hot and dry climate that is still used by vine growers to slake their thirst in vineyards. It is a piece of ancient technology that is both simple and ingenious – a clay botijo can cool water by 10ºC in under an hour through the process of evaporation.

There are three wines in the range, labeled as V.T. Valdejalón:

Botijo Blanco: We make around 20,000 bottles of this Garnacha Blanca mono-varietal. Our key aim in the production process is to minimize oxidation to create a fresh, fruit-forward style. Three months of lees stirring give weight and texture on the palate.

Botijo Rojo: Around 55,000 bottles are produced annually using indigenous yeasts and 10 – 15 months ageing in concrete tanks. 100% Garnacha, it is fresh, balanced and fruity. Just like a botijo, it proves that beauty can be found in the simplest things. The 2015 vintage was awarded 90 points from Robert Parker, whereas the 2016 vintage has just been awarded 16 points by Jancis Robinson MW.

Botijo Viñas Viejas: From selected vines of over 45 years of age, our old vine Garnacha is aged in French oak for 8-10 months, rounding tannins and adding elegant smoky notes. The 2015 vintage (around 10,000 bottles) won a Gold medal at Germany’s Mundus Vini 2018 competition.

The stylish label featuring a colourfully decorated botijo, designed by top wine label designer Marta Lojo, has helped win listings across international markets. It is served by the glass in Michelin-starred Jordi Cruz’s Ten’s Tapas Bar in Barcelona, in the Michelin-starred Chapter One restaurant in Dublin, Ireland and has just been introduced in Lufthansa’s Business Class Lounges.