SPANISH ICONS

For decades, there were just a few wines regarded as Spain's most revered. Recently, these have been joined by a growing cast of modern-day powerhouses that have risen rapidly to win the hearts of critics and collectors alike. Read on to discover the 10 Spanish wines you should try before you die

- INES SALPICO

It's impossible to will, or proclaim, the creation of an icon. Any Hollywood talent agent worth their salt will tell you as much. And yet, when achieved, icon status is undisputable. So what does the process of becoming an icon entail? What makes the 10 Spanish wines featured here worthy of the description? The answer is never straightforward. Producers themselves acknowledge that there is, despite their recognised efforts and focus on quality, an element of serendipity made of fortunate encounters and of the sometimes baffling flux of history. Still, luck and historical relevance need to be met by a combination of winemaking excellence, expert viticulture and privileged terroirs.

The 10 icons of Spanish wine highlighted in the coming pages share two common denominators: individuality and consistency of style and quality.

These allow them to remain firmly above fleeting fashions, standing out not just as benchmark examples of their regions but also as symbols of rigour, professionalism and strength of character.

They are faithful to their time and place but, above all, to themselves.

Most importantly, however, these are incredible tasting experiences that demonstrate Spain's increasing strength as a source of fine wine of icons old and new. Some of them command exorbitant prices - but it's worth pooling with a group of friends to try a bottle at least once. You won't regret it.

The robustness of this list, and the fact that other names - such as Dominio del Aguila's Canta la Perdiz from Ribera del Duero or Terroir AI Límit's Les Manyes Priorat - would have been included, space allowing, shows how the last 150 years have been punctuated by chapters of outstanding evolution in the narrative of Spanish winemaking.