Iona Napier
AN Albacete wine is officially Spain’s best tipple and the international community’s second favourite.
Spaniards may not drink as heavily as their French or Portuguese neighbours, but thanks to telephone app Vivino’s 10.5 million users, little-known Alaya wine has come out on top.
Alaya 2011 wine, made in Almansa, equidistant between Albacete and Alicante, has won the international consumers’ vote in the search for the world’s best wine under €45.
“We’re delighted that the public have voted our wine top in Spain as at the end of the day they’re more important than the critics as they that have to drink it,” said the Murcian bodega owner Miguel Gil.
The vintage came second only to a French pinot noir in a system where wine enthusiasts photograph the label of the wine they tried and rate it from one to five.
The Spanish wine is a bargain at €20 per bottle versus the winning Dairyman Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 which retails at €36.
And in third place was a 2010 Italian wine, Primitivo di Manduria Sessantanni, made in Puglia.
