Roving Sommelier is passionate about premium quality regional Spanish wines. Baluarte is a family-owned winery (Chivite Family Estates) that produces affordable premium wines in the region of Navarra in northern Spain. I first went to Navarra way back in 1998 with a group of sommeliers working while in London. I remember that I discovered many wonderful things there, including the wines that were produced from Tempranillo and old Garnacha vines. I returned to the region once again around ten years later and visited many more bodegas and drank plenty of pacharan, as well as the region’s characterful wines and delicious produce.

A wine, like a bouquet of wildflowers, is the reflection of a landscape. Baluarte Roble is a wine in which the Tempranillo grape is the protagonist thanks to the uplifting freshness and the rich aromatic complexity that typify this variety in Navarra. Intense and expressive, it embodies the characteristic flavour and freshness of Navarra.

Picture a region of breath-taking beauty and peacefulness (especially great when you’re used to living and working in London for many years!!), where the old bush-trained vineyards gently nudge themselves up into the foothills of the mountains. Add in a speckled, patchwork of spartan vineyards and dusty roads, where the only traffic jams are those created by sheep crossing the road, and you have the region of Navarra. Here, you also get plenty of bang for your buck!

Serve at room temperature with seasonal food and in a convivial atmosphere.