Campo de Borja wine region [old]

Campo de Borja's wine region is known in Aragon (its motherland) as the Empire of Garnacha due to the prominence of this variety doing half of his total surface. It could also be called D.O. Moncayo because mount Moncayo (2.314 meters) marks the different altitudes and wine quality as we approach its slopes. CdB is also an administrative sub-region in Aragón, with almost 14.000 inhabitants of average 70 years old. Borja is a big village and it gives its name to the Campo de Borja region (and not necessarily with the Borgia dynasty of Renaissance ).

 


Apart from Moncayo and wine, other CdB cultural symbols are their religious elements: the Veruela's Cistercian Monastery (in Vera del Moncayo), or the famous Ecce Homo of the Misercordia's Sanctuary in Borja, which keeps as one of the funnest and first viral phenomens in Spain: a devout elderly woman from Borja is commissioned to restore the Sanctuary of Borja's Ecce Homo, beyond fulfilling her mission she involuntarily destroys this 1930's artwork that becomes viral and makes Borja famous Worldwide

 


Campo de Borja's wine-growing area has 16 villages with the right to make through 18 wineries (quite a few concentrated in the Borja and Ainzón areas). The cooperative structure and the large producing companies with very high-volume productions are predominants. Small family projects that seek to convey the personality of the terroir are not popular in this wine region. There is also no news about two IGP wine regions surrounding our CdB: 'Ribera del Queiles' and 'Valdejalón'.

The representative wine of the CdB D.O. is a Grenache majority red one that is sometimes accompanied by other permitted varieties such as Tempranillo or Syrah with up to 6 months of barrel and high alcohol content. It is not common to find many rosés wines from D.O. CdB since only 40 km to the north is D.O. Navarra, which has a great renown for rosés. White wines are also in the shadow of reds: young Macabeo based dry wines or sweet Muscat stand out. The reputation of reds, whites and rosés is based on their scandalously low prices that do not help to identify the D.O with quality but that has a minority of true Grenache-based treasures.

 


If we put aside all the hectoliters of Garnacha that are sold for € 3, € 4 or € 5 in supermarkets in Aragon, we can rescue small treausres capables of competing with Rioja, Navarra, Montsant, Priorat or Calatayud red's. In addition, the village of Ainzón has the right to produce sparkling wines with the Cava D.O. This fact helps to understand that there is not only good Spanish sparkling in the catalan region.

 

                        Wineries to follow


  •   Bodegas Bordejé (Ainzón): pioneer of Cava in Aragon. Small production and own vineyards. Ask for Miguel Ángel if you want to know more. 
    Brut Nature Chardonnay. $12.60 +-

     
  • Bodegas Ruberte (Magallón): Small winery managed by women that differs from the rustic and alcoholic wine profile of the large cooperatives in the region.

    Tresor cuvée. One of the Susana Ruberte's treasures. $16.68
     
     

  • Bodegas Alto Moncayo (Borja): they have one of the must-tastes of Campo de Borja: the cuvée 'High Moncayo' demonstrating that Garnacha can improve with 20 months of new barrels aging.

    Old Vines Grenache. $41.71

     

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