Vinos Aurelio García - Micaela Rubio

Aurelio García & Micaela Rubio are a husband-and-wife team that were born and raised in the tiny village of La Alberca de Záncara in the province of Cuenca. Both of them are respected winemakers who have consulted and worked as technical directors at several prestigious estates across Spain over their decades long careers.

Both winemakers share their home with one of Spain's most misunderstood grape varieties - Bobal. This is Spain's most planted grape variety, and is native to the Spanish southeast, specifically the provinces of Valencia and Cuenca. Bobal is a thick-skinned grape that historically has been used as a workhouse variety by local co-ops. However, we've heard this story told before in the history of Spanish viticulture, and the fact that this grape has been understood as a rustic and tannic blending grape championed by large cooperatives is no indication of the grape's inherent quality. In fact, when sourced from old vineyards and vinified properly, Bobal can produce exceptionally complex and balanced wines, with layered structure, mouthwatering acidity, and potential for ageing.

In 2011, Aurelio & Micaela lamented the fact that few quality producers were championing the spectacular old field blend goblet-trained vineyards of Bobal that were planted near their hometown. They founded their first winemaking project, Micaela Rubio, and began buying land in the villages of Pozoamargo and Casas de Benitez, both a short 30-minute drive from their hometown. Today, they are one of the hottest up and coming projects in the area, and one of Spain's principal champions of the Bobal variety.