Only a handful of wines each year stop the SommSelect Tasting Panel in its tracks, and 2022 Las Alas de Frontonio “La Tejera” is one of them. You’ll be hard‑pressed to find this wine in any retail channel—allocations are microscopic, and we’re genuinely fortunate to have secured just 24 bottles for our VIP members.
This is an insider’s treasure, an old‑vine Garnacha that makes even the most coveted triple‑digit Châteauneuf‑du‑Papes feel monolithic by comparison. Fernando Mora Master of Wine’s 2022 lineup delivered a level of purity, lift, and mineral precision that borders on surreal. This is Garnacha reimagined—weightless yet intense, perfumed yet grounded, and unmistakably the work of a Master of Wine who refuses to follow any rule but his own.
The story behind Frontonio only deepens the intrigue. Mora and his longtime partner Mario López built their project from a literal garage, working forgotten plots of 80–98‑year‑old bush vines in Valdejalón—an appellation so overlooked that Frontonio remains the only winery bottling under its name. Their La Tejera vineyard sits on a north‑facing slope of slate, quartzite, and clay once used for roof tiles, a geological mosaic that infuses the wine with tension and electricity. Foot‑treading, native yeasts, whole clusters, and zero cosmetic winemaking allow the vineyard to speak with shocking clarity. The result is a wine that feels like a cross between Domaine Charvin’s most elegant Châteauneuf and the perfumed, silken touch of Hudelot‑Noëllat’s Chambolle‑Musigny.
From the first swirl, La Tejera announces itself with riveting aromatics: Asian citrus, eucalyptus, crushed white flowers, and a flicker of exotic spice, all carried by a cool mineral breeze. The palate is fine and nervy, driven by slate‑born tension and a freshness that seems impossible in Aragón’s heat. As it unfurls, notes of strawberry, pomegranate, dried herbs, and a touch of slate glide across a medium‑bodied frame, supported by supple, ultra‑fine tannins. The finish is long, persistent, and impossibly balanced—an interplay of acidity and concentration that critics have rewarded with 96–97 point scores from Suckling, Parker, and Decanter. It’s delicious now, but the structure and energy promise a decade or more of graceful evolution.
For collectors, this is the kind of wine that becomes a legend precisely because so few people ever taste it. Mora’s MW precision meets garage‑winery soul, producing a Garnacha of rare transparency and emotional impact. With only 24 bottles available, this is a fleeting chance to experience one of Spain’s most exciting vineyards at the hands of one of its most visionary winemakers. If you love the mineral cut of Gredos, the finesse of great Burgundy, or the soulful depth of traditional Rhône, La Tejera belongs in your cellar—before the rest of the world catches on.
