Oh the blue label is the worst, now I know why!!

Actually, the good thing about wine drinking is that everyone is entitled to their opinion because we all have different tastes. Sticking to your photo, though, I'd try the one on the top, the yellow-labeled one (the joven), and I also see the Tres Picos.

Other regions nearby to keep in mind are those from Calatayud and Cariñena.

From something meaty but different, try the Montsant wines from Cataluña, which are similar to the Priorat wines (the regions are next door to each other), but are half the price.

This is so funny. With the arrival of each new post, the reviews only get worse!!! I don't know, maybe they send the crap stuff over to the States, because honestly these wines are pretty good and are generally well-regarded in wine fairs and guides alike. The winery is really a cooperative in disguise, so it does have a wide range to offer, in price, and apparently in quality. But, as I said before, not everyone has to like the same wine.

Getting back to your question, Yecla is indeed a region which has grown in popularity over the past fews years. It's a tiny denominación de Origen in the north of Murcia. It's close to Jumilla and its wines are similar. Traditionally it was a huge bulk wine produce which sold millions of gallons to Europe. Now it is focussing on bottled wines. They are typically reds made from the regional grape variety called Monastrell. But other varieties like Syrah, Tempranillo and Merlot are included for blending and as varietal (one variety) wine. If you've tried wine from Yecla, chances are it's from the winery Castaño, which is hands down the most important one there. Its wine mostly goes by the same name, but others like Pozuelo and Hécula belong to the winery. There is also a cooperative (La Purísima) which makes some pretty straightfoward simple stuff...some of it is pretty shaky. There are also some very young wineries making some very good wine too, but some of these wines are pricier than the typical Yecla wines.

So, in short, generally good wines at good prices. For the moment, your best bet is Castaño, though there may be dissenting opinions out there!!

Yep - Castano is the winery most predominate in the stores - have also seen Hecula - didn't realize it was the same parent winery.

And I'll bite - Borsao only sends the junk overseas

I have found Osborne wines at Hy-Vees here in Iowa, along with the aformentioned Marques de Riscal and Faustino VI. I have also been lucky on occasion to find a bottle of Freixenet Cava, which is one of my favorites.

hercula is good i try it; and i am certified by the commercial office of spain in new York back in 2001 with its director Julio Becquer. They did tastings of spanish wines all over the US, and I always was in them;met many Spanish growers.
these mentioned are all good
Navarra, La Mancha, Jumilla, Somontano, some Toros (though they are getting pricey), Campo de Borja.
Ruedas the whites still have a way to go for Spain same for the bubblies. The red I think there are up there with the best.

Another good wine region to consider in terms of price/quality ratio is V.T. Castilla, which is basically La Mancha in disguise. It's not a D.O., but some of the best wine coming out of Castilla-La Mancha can be found under this region, so there's another one to keep an eye out for.

cheers!

thanks for the tip on V.T. Castilla, Murdy - nice to have our own resident wine connoisseur

You've got that right, Puna.

I tried a crianza from Rioja, called El Coto this past weekend, and it was yummy!!!!! I found it at Trader Joes for about 7 bucks!

Seeing as Charlotte is finally getting a Trader Joe's I'll keep an eye out for it -