Forcallà
Valencia's other survivor. Old bush vines, clay and limestone, and a pepper note that never lets up.
Forcallà (Forcallat tinta on the paperwork) is a long-established Valencian red that met the same fate as Arcos: through the twentieth century it was judged unprofitable for ripening late and giving too little colour and alcohol, and it steadily disappeared from the map, replanting by replanting. What survived were old bush vines, scattered about, on the clayier plots of the Terres dels Alforins.
In the glass it brings what Arcos lacks: a touch more structure and tannin, an insistent spiciness (black pepper, scrubland, thyme) and that mineral undertow you get off chalky soils. It never turns heavy, mind; we’re talking about wines of 12.5% that drink themselves. Worked whole-cluster and aged in clay, Forcallà is the proof that the Mediterranean can make light wine without giving up an ounce of flavour.