Garnacha tintorera

Synonyms: alicante, alicante bouschet, colorina, garnacha, moratón, negral, tintorera, tintorera de liria, tintorera de Longares, alicante Henri Bouschet.

Nicknamed tintorera because its flesh has a reddish colour, when it is usually white. These varieties with coloured flesh have historically been used to give more colour to red wines, although their presence was associated with low quality wines.

It is an early budding, medium ripening grape, ideal for Mediterranean climates or Mediterranean-continental transition climates.  It can be found as a single variety, mainly in Almansa, although it is also common in other producing areas such as Valdeorras, Monterrei, Manchuela, Valencia, Jumilla and Castilla la Mancha.

In terms of style, it has a very intense, almost opaque colour pattern, and its fruity point ranges from black fruit to candied fruit, depending on the grape's degree of ripeness, although it is always linked to a very ripe, almost gourmand fruit touch. On the palate it usually shows structure and fleshiness. Because of these characteristics, many winemakers opt, with greater or lesser success, to work it with new oak, thinking that this ageing will tame all its structure and fleshiness.