Spanish wines hold firm in the 2024 en primeur campaign

While Bordeaux prices continue to plummet, the handful of Spanish wines offered en primeur have remained stable —or even risen slightly. This trend can be seen in the price evolution of the 2022 to 2024 vintages, as reported by Vila Viniteca, the leading promoter of Spain’s en primeur campaign.

There have been no significant changes in release prices for Dominio de Pingus and Dominio de Es in Ribera del Duero, or Rioja producers such as Contador and Cuentaviñas. By contrast, all the wines from the Eguren group —including Viñedos Sierra Cantabria and Viñedos de Páganos in Rioja, and Teso La Monja in Toro— have seen increases ranging from 10% and 12%. The sharpest rises were for La Nieta (14%) and Teso La Monja (19%), while the lowest was for Mágico (5%). Two red wines made by Álvaro Palacios have also gone up by 10%: La Baixada in Priorat and Quiñón de Valmira, his iconic Garnacha from Rioja Oriental.

However, the most significant increase came from Comando G, as Dani Landi and Fernando García further consolidated demand for their top Garnacha wines from Gredos. En primeur prices for Tumba del Rey Moro and El Tamboril Tinto rose by 17%, while Las Iruelas increased by 70% and  by almost 90% for Rumbo al Norte.

In addition to Vila Viniteca, whose two annual  tastings in Madrid and Barcelona are a highlight of the en priemeur season, the wine import company Primeras Marcas is also a strong proponent of this sales model. Its portfolio includes top Spanish producers such as Artadi, Viña Sastre and Dominio de Calogía. We attended both tasting events and spoke to producers about the 2024 vintage.

Gredos

According to Fernando García, 2024 was slightly warmer than 2023, though cooler than 2022. Interestingly, although the average temperature was lower than in 2023, August and September were hotter, and the temperature swings typically seen at the end of ripening were absent. On a positive note, harvest conditions were excellent and the grapes were in perfect health. A spring frost, however, reduced yields for village and premier cru wines. At Comando G, frost is combatted with candles in their top vineyards, but they lack the resources to extend this protection to their lower-tier sites.

The 2024 wines were notably open and expressive, without the reductive character often associated with the area and Comando G's winemaking style. As such, the vintage may appeal to more classic wine drinkers, who might enjoy the weight and generous fruit of La Breña 1er (€71.12, Villanueva de Ávila), while wine geeks may gravitate towards the dry-stone character of Peña La Mora 1er (same price, vineyards in Navatalgordo). Prices for single-vineyard Garnacha wines continue to climb. At €142, buyers can choose between the fresh, herbal, crisp character of Las Umbrías, and the Mediterranean style of Las Iruelas, which this year showed a lively, peppery quality. The top cuvée, Rumbo al Norte (over €330), displayed more substance than usual and promises great potential.

Those looking for an affordable alternative in Gredos should consider the new Canto Platero from Vitícola Mentridana, priced at €36.72. This wine comes from the Viña del Fin del Mundo vineyard, which Dani Landi farmed at his family\'s winery between 2007 and 2011 before the fruit was earmarked for  Las Uvas de la Ira cuvée. Canto Platero is a tasty, gentle, delicate  Garnacha with notable purity.

Ribera del Duero

Peter Sisseck describes 2024 as a complex vintage, with yields for Psi down 20% due to a late April frost that affected many of its vineyards. The Flor de Pingus plots were spared thanks to the use of candles, but frost protection towers will be installed soon. The September rains further complicated the harvest. Sisseck told us that one Pingus tank had been placed in 'quarantine'. If this wine doesn’t make the final blend, production of his top cuvée in the 2024 vintage will be down by just over 1,000 bottles.

The smartest buy from the estate is probably Flor de Pingus (€101.58), which in 2024 offers an elegant, flavourful and bright wine that is firm but not heavy. The more affordable Psi maintains a relatively light style by Ribera del Duero's standards, with 80% of production sold overseas. Experiencing Pingus's sheer range of nuances requires spending over €1,000 per bottle —well beyond the budget of most wine lovers.

At Dominio de Calogía, José Manuel Pérez Ovejas  reports a 40% drop in yields due to frost, but he is delighted with the wines' fresh profile and moderate alcohol. Priced under €50, the estate’s flagship red, Dominio de Calogía, offers a fine introduction to their restrained, elegant style, with aroma extraction at low temperatures and measured power. Those on a budget should consider the Cuvée S (around €115), which is made from Pérez's oldest vineyard -an 80-year-old plot in Pedrosa del Duero yielding just 1.5 kilos per vine. Deep and elegant, this red stands out for its excellent fruit quality and deserves a place among the region's top reds.

Rioja

For Álvaro Palacios, 2024 was a hot, dry vintage, yet the grapes were harvested at the usual time. September rainfall ensured a good balance between sugar and acidity. Unlike 2023, which was considerably warmer, the temperature fluctuations between day and night during the final stage of ripening were beneficial to his vineyards on Mount Yerga in Rioja Oriental. The 2024 Valdelarreina (€117.45) showed greater definition and depth than its 2023 debut, with fragrant, spicy aromas and notable length. Quiñón de Valmira (€350.90) was superb —more fruit-driven than spicy, with an almost explosive quality on the palate. Palacios is seeking greater concentration by delaying green pruning, and the warm weather combined with uneven fruit set in 2024 have enhanced this impression.

In Sonsierra, Eduardo Eguren believes he has produced his best wines to date, despite having to race against the rain and complete the harvest in just three days, from 18 to 20 September. Alongside his 2024s, Eguren brought a couple of samples from the previous vintage to showcase how the wines evolve. Compared with 2023, the white Arriscado 2024 (€39.81) was rather closed, while the 2024 Septeno (€56.81) was still in a very early stage of development, and had yet to reveal the fresh herbal notes that distinguish the La Canoca site, known for its elevation, limited sun exposure, and windy conditions. All the wines impressed with their quality, but my favourite was Los Yelsones (€97.41), both for its juiciness and the chalky finish —the soil of this vineyard in the La Rad area is made up of 50–60% limestone rock.

It was interesting to compare Cuentaviñas with other wines from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, including those made by Eduardo’s family at Viñedos Sierra Cantabria. We particularly enjoyed El Bosque (€87.54), a deep, fruit-driven red, that is both serious and juicy with excellent balance, and Mágico (just over €470), the winery's most delicate and vibrant red. Unlike his son Eduardo, Marcos Eguren described 2024 as a vintage defined by harvest windows between generous bouts of rainfall. Botrytis issues required a lot of sorting, but overall conditions were much better than in 2014, when near-constant rain at the the final stages of the vintage severely affected quality. At Contador, another leading producer from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, La Cueva del Contador (€65.34) generally shows well at the en primeur tasting, and the 2024 vintage was no exception: it displayed a serious, firm profile and very good potential.

At Viñedos de Páganos in Laguardia, the Eguren family managed to harvest the grapes for La Nieta (€117.79) before the October rains arrived. The result is a deep, fragrant and energetic wine.

The López de Lacalle family's vineyards in Álava province were not affected by excessive rainfall; in fact, they believe that the September rains brought forward the harvest, reducing yields and improving overall quality. They also welcomed the temperature variations that resulted in excellent ripening, refined tannins and moderate alcohol content. Artadi presented one of the most consistent ranges in the en primeur tasting. While Viña El Pisón, now approaching €250, remains a standout, two wines clearly stood out for us: Valdeginés, a floral, fruity, luminous and crisp wine, represents great value under €40, while El Carretil is a  precise, elegant wine with great length and a magnificent finish, priced at €142.28. Artadi left the Rioja appellation in December 2015.

Priorat

The 2024 vintage was marked by drought in Priorat, but, according to Sara Pérez of Mas Martinet, the region benefited from temperature variations between day and night that were absent in 2023. She describes 2024 as a vintage full of energy, in contrast to the austerity and concentration that defined 2023  —what she calls it a year of 'matter'. Clos Martinet (€43.32) is a prime example, offering natural concentration and deep flavours, as well as authenticity. As for the estate's single-vineyard reds, the choice comes down to style. Els Escurçons is a delicate Garnacha with an air of mystery to it, while Camí Pesseroles showcases the depth of Cariñena's blue fruit. Both wines are priced at €64.37 for the en primeur campaign.