🇪🇸 Vicente Gandía Bobal Blanco 2024

A white wine made from Bobal, a red grape, because normal is boring. This is Utiel-Requena doing Blanc de Noirs with a flirty little blush and zero apologies.

Wine Description 

Vicente Gandía Bobal Blanco 2024 is a Blanc de Noirs from D.O. Utiel-Requena, meaning it’s a white wine made from Bobal, the region’s signature red grape. The trick is gentle whole-cluster pressing with a low press yield, plus a cold rest on lees, so you get brightness and texture without accidentally pouring a rosé. 

This bottle sits in Vicente Gandía’s “Bobal” project, a serious commitment to showing what Bobal can do when you treat it like the main character. It’s bottled at 12% and built to be served cold, smug, and extremely snackable. 

Winemaker-wise, this wine is tied to Pepe Hidalgo, Vicente Gandía’s Technical Director, and this label is explicitly positioned as his own project. If you like wines with a point of view, congratulations, you just found one.

Vine-to-Table: Meet the Winemaker 

Pepe Hidalgo is the Technical Director at Bodegas Vicente Gandía, and the producer has described “Bobal Blanco by Pepe Hidalgo” as the first project carried out entirely by him. He comes from a long family line of oenologists and is specifically associated with pushing Bobal quality in Utiel-Requena. 

The Vibe 

Mediterranean confidence with a slightly mischievous tint: pale yellow, with those subtle grey-reddish reflections that remind you this started life as a red grape. The official profile leans into wild strawberry notes, white flowers, and ripe fruit, with a clean, refreshing finish.

What it tastes like

Think crisp and bright up front, then a little roundness from time on lees, with fruit that reads more “fresh berries and orchard” than citrus bomb. It stays lively, finishes long, and keeps that faint “blanc de noirs” wink in the background.

Pairing + When to drink it 

This is made for seafood nights, simple fish, and rice dishes when you want the wine to behave but still have personality. Serve it properly cold (5–7°C) and open it when the plan is “one glass” and the reality is “oops.”

Quick Specs

• Producer: Bodegas Vicente Gandía 

• Winemaker: Pepe Hidalgo (Technical Director)

• Region/Appellation: D.O. Utiel-Requena, Spain 

• Grapes: 100% Bobal

• Vintage: 2024 

• Winemaking/Aging: Hand-harvested; whole-cluster press (press yield under 45%); cold rest on lees for 3 days; fermented at 14°C; fermentation finished in French oak barrels 

• ABV: 12% 

• Bottle size: 750 ml

Critic Reviews

• ADN Verema (guide/competition): 91 points

  • Date: 2023 page 

  • Excerpt: The listing highlights a pale yellow color with grey-reddish tones, plus a fresh, long finish.

   

FAQs 

Q: How does Vicente Gandía make a “white wine” from Bobal, a red grape?
A: It’s labeled Blanc de Noirs, and the winery describes whole-cluster pressing with a press yield below 45%, followed by a cold rest on lees for three days to manage color extraction. Then it ferments at controlled temperature before finishing fermentation in French oak. 

Q: What does “Blanc de Noirs” actually mean on this Utiel-Requena label?
A: It literally means “white from black,” a white wine made from red grapes, and Vicente Gandía frames it as a technique historically associated with Champagne. In Utiel-Requena, that’s extra spicy because Bobal is the dominant local grape they’re spotlighting. 

Q: Who is Pepe Hidalgo, and why is this bottle tied to his name?
A: Vicente Gandía has called Bobal Blanco by Pepe Hidalgo the first project carried out entirely by him, and identifies him as the winery’s Technical Director. He’s also described as coming from a long line of oenologists, with a focus on maximizing Bobal quality in Utiel-Requena.

Q: What’s the real place behind the “Bobal” trilogy, and why does altitude matter here?
A: Coverage around the Bobal range says the wines draw from old Bobal vines at Finca Hoya de Cadenas, around 900 meters of altitude, with a continental climate and big day-night temperature swings. That combo is often linked to preserving freshness even when the sun is doing the most.

Q: Why does the official tasting note mention grey and reddish reflections if it’s a white wine?
A: Because it starts as Bobal, and the winery says the must is kept cold on lees to pick up a slight touch of color extracted from skins. So you get a pale wine that still hints at its red-grape origin.