Wine Enthusiast has just given us a very good reason to celebrate.
The scores for its upcoming Buying Guide have just been announced. And they bring very good news.
Las Pizarras raises its hand again.
From Calatayud.
From the slate soils.
From vineyards that do not always appear in wine’s big picture, but that have been showing for years that important things happen here.
Our garnacha shines. Our Pizarras shine. And we have reason to celebrate.
Because behind these wines are Manuel, Miguel, Fernando…
Their hands are there tending the vineyards, their boots are there treading slate soils, and their eyes are accustomed to scrutinizing land that gives nothing away.
And they, our growers, are the first link in a chain that ends with bottles that Wine Enthusiast has just ranked highly.
Very high.
Viña Alarba and Las Lomas, 93 points
In this new review, several Las Pizarras wines received scores between 90 and 93 points.
And that matters a great deal to us because Las Pizarras is not a collection designed to talk about Calatayud in general.
Quite the opposite.
It was born to go into detail.
Villages.
Vineyards.
Soils.
Altitudes.
Plots with character.
Garnachas with personality and little interest in sounding like the one next door.
These differences give rise to wines that each speak with their own accent, depending on where the grapes grow, how they ripen, and who engages with them.
And that is precisely what Wine Enthusiast has recognized.
At the very top:
Las Pizarras Viña Alarba 2021
93 points · Editor’s Choice
Las Pizarras Las Lomas 2022
93 points
Las Pizarras Viña Acered 2022
92 points
Las Pizarras Viña Atea 2023
92 points
And Fabla #506 is also present:
Las Pizarras Fabla #506 2024
90 points · Best Buy
Garnacha at the center
Viña Alarba, Las Lomas, Viña Acered, and Viña Atea are wines that focus on specific places.
Not as a pretty idea of a region, but as a real region.
With a name, a soil, a climate, a character, and quirks of its own. It has those too.
That is why we like this list so much. Because it does not treat Calatayud as a big word to put on a label and move on.
It looks closely. Under a magnifying glass.
It distinguishes.
It fine-tunes.
It recognizes that Garnacha does not say the same thing everywhere, even though the map may want to simplify everything with a line and a name.
And of course, that hits close to home for us.
Because Las Pizarras was born precisely for that: to tell the story of Calatayud without smoothing out its rough edges or forcing all its wines to sound the same.
And Fabla #506 too
Las Pizarras Fabla #506 2024, awarded 90 points and the Best Buy distinction, occupies a different place within the collection.
It is not a 100% single-vineyard wine, but a blend of Garnacha Tinta and Syrah. And perhaps that is why it works so well as an introduction to Las Pizarras: it connects you with Calatayud, with the altitude and those soils that leave their mark, but through a more direct, juicy expression that is easy to open.
Without solemnity.
And with a value for money that Wine Enthusiast has recognized as its Best Buy. One more reason to be proud, and it’s not the first time.
Calatayud was not going to go unnoticed
These accolades arrive at an especially important moment for Las Pizarras.
Not because a score is everything. It isn't.
But yes, because it helps more people look toward an area that has not always held the place it deserves on the wine map.
Calatayud has old vineyards, Garnacha, altitude, stone, contrasts, and small villages with fewer and fewer voices, but so much to say.
So yes, we are happy.
But above all, we are convinced.
Our history.
Our wines.
Our farmers.
And that Calatayud does not need to disguise itself as anything to stand alongside the greats.
It just needs to be looked at properly.
Wine Enthusiast has done it.