The vast, mountainous Castilla-La Mancha region, south of Madrid, was once derided as a “wine lake” to rival France’s Languedoc, but, as in Languedoc, quality has been on the rise. Martúe’s home base is a village called La Guardia de Toledo, where vineyards at 850 meters are rooted in limestone- rich soils and experience wide diurnal temperature swings—not unlike more-famous regions further north.

Crafted from 100% Tempranillo planted at 850 meters of elevation, this is an affordably priced wine that tastes expensive. Hand-harvested, estate-grown fruit was fermented on ambient yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Once the wine completed malolactic fermentation, it matured in used 225-liter French oak barrels for three months.

Fausto Gonzalez established his first vineyards in 1990, uprooting plantings of an innocuous white grape, Airen, and replacing it with Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other varieties. In addition to winning accolades for his wines, the Campo de la Guardia vineyard was recognized as a “Vino de Pago”—one of only 20 vineyards in all of Spain to receive this Grand Cru-style distinction.

Saturated black fruit flavors are complemented by a toasty kiss of French (not American) oak, which lends subtle notes of vanilla and toast. Some of Tempranillo’s tobacco-leaf savor and dusty, crushed-rock minerality is also in evidence. The wine is medium-plus in body, with soft, ripe tannins, but there’s a nice wave of freshness lending buoyancy on the palate.