The village of San Martín de Unx in Navarra can be regarded as the entrance door to the Baja Montaña sub-area. The original facilities of the local co-operative date from 1914 when 192 vinegrowers joined forces. The buildings still stand in the town centre, but since 2000 all the wines are made in a new, modern winery with enough stainless steel vats to store up to 5 million litres plus and an ad-hoc area for bag in box.

Members own 600 hectares, 35% of which are traditional bush vines grown on slopes or terraces in San Martín’s surrounding mountains.

The current focus is on Garnacha, the traditional indigenous grape in the area.

The range starts with Ilagares, the entry-level brand of young wines (around €5 in Spain), and the classic Crianza (€6) and Reserva (€7.50), both sold under the Señorío de Unx brand.

More interesting is La Matacalva (€75). Named after a particular setting in the village, it has been aged in used oak in order to highlight the variety’s fruit expression. The packaging is far more eye-catching and it comes in a Burgundy-shaped bottle, as is the case with Alma de Unx. These include a white version, aged in oak for two months(€8.5) and a red one (€9.5) aged for 6 months. Aged for up to eight months, La Calma Mágica also includes a Garnacha Blanca and a Garnacha Tinta, both of which retail at around €13 in Spain.