Mexican red wines are increasingly applauded by both national and international consumers, for the excellent products raised in the Valle de Guadalupe and other wine regions of the country.
As the international recognition of Mexican labels grows year after year, we have prepared this article for you. These are the 12 best Mexican red wines.
1. Balche Zero Premium
Barón Balché is one of the best and most famous brands of Mexican wines and the Cero Premium red wine has been one of its greatest creations.
The drink is made from 100% nebbiolo grapes, a varietal from Italian Piedmont that produces highly tannic wines that can take many years to age.
The Balché Cero Premium is a high-density wine with a plum red color and ruby highlights. On the nose it is intense and expressive with balsamic notes, spices and vanilla, tobacco, black plums and coffee.
On the palate it is dry, complex, with medium acidity and elegant tannins, with an aftertaste of truffles and tobacco.
It is fermented at a controlled temperature in the range of 28 to 30 °C and resides for 48 months in fine-grained French oak barrels. Its alcohol content is 13.8% with a aging potential of between 10 and 12 years.
Bodega Barón Balché was founded in 1987 in Valle de Guadalupe and currently vinifies grapes from 15 varietals, including reds and whites.
Balché Zero Premium wine price: 2900 MXN (153.83 USD).
Barón Balché Cero Premium wine pairing
It is recommended to serve between 17 and 19 °C, using the decanter to oxygenate it. It is magnificent to accompany suckling pig, kid, game meats and cheeses with intense flavors, such as cheddar, provolone and blue.
2. Sirius 2012 Heaven
Sirius is one of the best Mexican red wines. It is made with Nebbiolo and Malbec grapes, spending 22 months in new French oak barrels and another 24 months in the bottle.
It is a clean, bright wine with an attractive plum red tone with ruby nuances. Its aroma palette includes sensations of red and black fruits, particularly cherries, currants, blackberries, blackberries and figs, notes of marzipan and elegant touches of liquorice, nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate and tobacco.
On the palate it is fine, elegant and full-bodied, with a perfect balance between acidity, alcohol, tenacity and a long finish.
Vinícola El Cielo has its vineyards distributed between the valleys of Guadalupe, San Jacinto and Ojos Negros, with a total of 95 hectares planted with different varietals.
Sirius 2012 El Cielo wine price: 1198 MXN (63.55 USD).
Sirius 2012 wine pairing El Cielo
It is recommended to serve it between 18 and 20 °C to accompany sophisticated, spicy and structured dishes, such as recipes with game meats, moles and mature cheeses.
3. Mount Xanic Great Richard
Among the most famous Mexican red wines is Gran Ricardo, from Bodega Monte Xanic. Among all, it was chosen to accompany the dinners of Popes John Paul II and Francisco, during their visits to Mexico.
This winery founded in 1987 has the northernmost vineyards of Valle de Guadalupe and Mexico, 30 km from the city of Ensenada.
The main wine of the house is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (63%), merlot (27%) and petit verdot (10%), which spends 18 months in French oak barrels.
It is clean, bright, with a violet tone and an intense cherry color. Its frank, complex and intense nose is of blackberries, cassis, cherries, blueberries and raspberries, with notes of orange peel, lilacs and violets and hints of balsamic, cocoa, cedar, caramel, spices, thyme, pine nuts, toasted notes, liquorice and coffee.
It attacks smoothly in the mouth with a great volume that envelops the entire palate and is dry, warm in alcohol and fresh in acidity. Its intense and sweet tannins give it a velvety body and confirm in the mouth the perceptions of the nose.
Monte Xanic Gran Ricardo wine price: 1192.32 MXN (63.25 USD).
Monte Xanic Gran wine pairing
This wine is highly complex, elegant and has intense ripe tannins. It is recommended to serve it at 18 °C with the best cuts of meat, roast beef, game meats such as wild boar and venison, lamb, salmon, aged cheeses and stews with vegetables.
4. The Clouds Nebbiolo Grand Reserve
The 100% Nebbiolo wine bred by Bodegas y Viñedos Las Nubes with grapes harvested in Valle de la Grulla (Valle de Guadalupe), is vinified by pre-fermentation maceration and fermentation in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts.
It is aged for 24 months in French oak barrels and then spends 72 weeks in the bottle.
It has an aging potential of 8 to 10 years and is of an intense purplish red color with ruby highlights that show its good maturity.
Its legs are long and thick, which denotes good bounty of alcohol and density. It looks sharp and shiny, showing that it is a clean and well-made product.
It offers attractive, elegant and sophisticated fruity notes of ripe plums and blueberries on the nose, with soft touches of toast and tobacco. It feels powerful and meaty on the palate with pleasant acidity, elegance, complexity and balanced silky tannins.
Price of Las Nubes Nebbiolo Gran Reserva wine: 950 MXN (50.39 USD).
Wine pairing Las Nubes Nebbiolo Gran Reserva
This wine should be served between 18 and 20°C, especially to enjoy high-power dishes based on lamb, venison, pork and beef. Among the Mexican dishes, it goes very well with the shredded beef steak.
5. Santos Brujos Tempranillo
The Tempranillo grape, native to La Rioja, is the most widely used in this important Spanish wine region and is considered the symbol of Spanish red winemaking.
It matures several weeks before its congeners from the Iberian Peninsula, hence its name, and produces full-bodied wines.
Santos Brujos Tempranillo is a red wine bred by Bodega Viñas del Sol in Valle de Guadalupe. It is clean and bright cherry red in color with purple sparkles that are also resplendent. It expresses complexity in its aroma, reminiscent of forest strawberries with a predominance of blackberries, to which are added delicate notes of rose stems.
It leaves its round and polished tannins felt on the palate, confirming its aromatic sensations in the mouth.
Viñas del Sol began in 2008 as a family project to create a select list of 3 artisanal wines. The other two house labels are Santos Brujos Chardonnay (white) and Santos Brujos Rosado.
Santos Brujos Tempranillo wine price: 890 MXN (47.21 USD).
Wine Pairing Santos Brujos Tempranillo
Santos Brujos Tempranillo is a versatile wine that goes very well with meat, fish, seafood and cheese.
6. Unique Gran Reserva Santo Tomás
This wine from the Premium line of Vinícola Santo Tomás (Valle de Guadalupe), is made with a mixture of red varietals in which the Cabernet Sauvignon grape (60%), Merlot (32%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) participate. .
The Único Gran Reserva Santo Tomás resides for 18 months in new French oak barrels and offers a striking garnet red color with violet tones to the eye.
On the nose, it leaves olfactory sensations of red and black berries, with notes of vanilla, cocoa and flowers, backed by hints of leather, menthol and wood.
On the palate it is mature, balanced, warm and persistent, with a velvety body.
This wine is accompanied in the Premium line of Vinícola Santo Tomás by Duetto (60% Tempranillo and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon), another excellent red aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, intensely aromatic, meaty and with firm tannins.
Single Gran Reserva Santo Tomás wine price: 884.77 MXN (46.93 USD).
Wine Pairing Unique Gran Reserva Santo Tomás
It goes great with red mole, select cuts of meat such as rib eye and lamb stew.
7. Anxelin Cabernet Sauvignon Encinillas Wines
Among the Mexican red wines that you must try is the Anxelin Cabernet Sauvignon, a product of the Vinícola Encinillas, in the Encinillas Valley (Chihuahua), at 1,560 meters above sea level, in an ideal terroir to harvest and vinify noble grapes.
The wine comes from select bunches and grapes of the varietal. It is elaborated with carefully controlled traditional practices to obtain a product with spirit and high quality in color, aromas and flavors. After residing in French oak barrels, it spends 6 months in the bottle before going on the market.
It is a fresh, young, elegant and bright wine, with a purple red color with violet highlights that, when shaken, forms abundant tears.
Its aromas evoke red fruits, black currants, pepper and vanilla. It is friendly and refreshing on the palate, highlighting its notes of red fruits and cassis, with sweet tannins.
The vineyard is managed with organic and self-sustaining methods to ensure the permanence of the project in harmony with its natural environment.
Wine price Anxelin Cabernet Sauvignon Vinos Encinillas: 750 MXN (39.78 USD).
Wine Pairing Anxelin Cabernet Sauvignon Encinillas Wines
It makes good company with different cuts of meats, pastas, pizzas and moderately seasoned Mexican dishes.
8. Mundane Merlot Reserve
This 100% merlot red wine is bred by Vinícola Mundano, a Valle de Guadalupe winery that, despite its short time in the market, won recognition for its labels in national and international competitions.
The Mundano Merlot Reserva wine spends 16 months in first-use French oak barrels and has a bright ruby red color with a medium-high robe and good density.
It presents itself on the nose with aromas of red and dark fruits, particularly strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, adding notes of vanilla, mocha coffee and bell pepper.
On the palate it is elegant and persistent, offering red fruits, tobacco and mocha, with soft tannins, length and fine aftertaste.
The winery also has the Mundano Nebbiolo 2015, a wine that resides for 16 months in first-use French oak barrels, with deep floral and spicy aromas with firm tannins, a delicate aftertaste and permanence.
The line is completed by the Mundano Baja 2015 and the Mundano Ensamble de Tintos 2015.
Mundano Merlot Reserva wine price: 695 MXN (36.87 USD)
Mundano Merlot Reserva wine pairing
This red pairs very well with lamb and grilled cuts that are not too greasy and not very spicy.
9. North 32 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Cabernet Sauvignon from the Norte 32 house is a wine that spends 7 to 13 months in French and American oak barrels.
On the nose it begins with aromas of toffee and caramel and progresses with elegant notes of cherries and blackberries, with slight hints of mint and raspberry gelato. It shows the eyes an intense garnet red with vermillion gleams, clean and bright.
On the palate it decisively attacks with its aromas, harmoniously evolving to a pleasant acidity, to finish with powerful and persistent tannins, with a finish covered with notes of vanilla and caramel.
North wine price 32 Cabernet Sauvignon: 653 MXN (34.64 USD).
North wine pairing 32 Cabernet Sauvignon
It is recommended to serve between 16 and 17 °C to accompany red cuts, lamb, suckling pig, baby squid and potato tortillas with chorizo.
10. Sculpture of the Marquis Reserve
Vinos del Marqués is a Querétaro winery at 2000 meters above sea level, in the Valle del Marqués, 25 minutes from the city of Santiago de Querétaro.
The winery produces excellent artisanal wines that include the white Poesía de la Marquesa, the rosé Danza de la Marquesa and the reds Música del Marqués Tempranillo, Música del Marqués Nebbiolo, Música del Marqués Syrah and Sculpture del Marqués Reserva, the latter made with a blend of syrah and nebbiolo.
It is a crimson red wine with violet sparkles that manifests itself on the nose with ripe red fruits, especially cherries, raspberries and blackberries, with subtle spicy notes of vanilla, cinnamon and pepper and soft touches of tobacco and leather.
On the palate it is intense, elegant, silky and long lasting.
Wine price Sculpture of the Marquis: 590 MXN (31.30 USD).
Wine Pairing Sculpture of the Marquis
It is a good companion to roasts and marinated beef and pork meats.
11. Assembly Hill Bodega Parallel
Ensamble Colina is one of the best blended varietal Mexican red wines, whose main grapes are cabernet sauvignon and merlot, with small amounts of petit sirah, barbera and zinfandel.
It is made in Valle de Guadalupe by Bodega Paralelo, a winery 10 km from Francisco Zarco.
The wine rests for 12 months in French oak barrels and is dark magenta red in color. On the nose it presents aromas of candied plums and pepper cream, with hints of smoke and vanilla. On the palate it is velvety, consistent and with a wide mouth, with round and light tannins.
Bodega Paralelo is a project conceived in maximum harmony with nature, from the practices in the vineyard to the materials used.
The style of the buildings is based on Land Art, an architectural concept that makes the landscape the origin and main protagonist of the structures.
Price of Ensamble Colina Bodega Paralelo wine: 584.28 MXN (30.99 USD).
Wine pairing Ensamble Colina Bodega Paralelo
It is recommended to serve the Ensamble Colina between 16 and 18 °C, accompanying red meats, sausages, cheeses and spicy dishes.
12. Nebbiolo Private Reserve LA Cetto
This Nebbiolo, from Cetto, is one of the best Mexican wines 2019 in the segment of high-quality reds and lower prices.
It comes from select grapes harvested by LA Cetto in its Valle de Guadalupe vineyards and spends 14 months in French oak barrels.
It is ruby red, bright and clean, with violet edges. It offers the nose aromas of ripe fruit, particularly cherries and figs, with aromatic notes of truffles, tea, wet straw, earth and leather. On the palate it is fruity, spicy, intense and complex.
LA Cetto wines from the Reserva Privada line are made with a meticulous selection of bunches and fruits and dedicated care in aging.
The Nebbiolo is accompanied in this line by the red wines Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah, the white Chardonnay and the sweet wine for desserts, Moscatel & Palomino.
Price of Nebbiolo Reserva Privada LA Cetto wine: 283 MXN (15.01 USD).
Pairing with Nebbiolo Reserva Privada LA Cetto wine
It is recommended to pair it with fatty cuts, Mexican and Italian dishes, pasta with spicy sauces and cheeses.
What are the best Mexican wines?
Mexico produces excellent wines in Valle de Guadalupe (Baja California), Valle de Parras (Coahuila), Valle de Encinillas (Chihuahua), Valle del Marqués (Querétaro) and other wine regions.
In Parras de la Fuente, the oldest and most important winery is Casa Madero, which has 5 labels in its Gran Reserva line: a white Chardonnay and the reds Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, 3V (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz) and malbet.
Other winery lines are Casa Madero (6 labels), V´S (3 labels) and Uvas Orgánicas (2 labels).
What Mexican red wine do you recommend?
In Casa Madero’s Gran Reserva line, the red Cabernet Sauvignon stands out, a carmine-red wine that spends 12 months in French white oak barrels.
It is intensely aromatic with notes of currants, plums, mint and eucalyptus. On the palate it is balanced and with firm and ripe tannins. It is good to eat barbecue beef, tapas of serrano ham, bife de chorizo and tacos of grilled pork rinds.
What is the difference between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon?
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is the main grape for the aging of wines in the famous French wine region of Bordeaux. It gives a dry wine, with solid tannins and a firm flavor, with fruity notes.
The Merlot grape is also native to Bordeaux, but it gives a wine with a smoother character than the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are excellent to accompany fish and shellfish, while red meats are better served by cabernet sauvignon.
Good and cheap Mexican red wines
Surco 2.7 is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon red wine made from grapes harvested in the San Vicente Valley (Baja California). It spends 12 months in the barrel and the same amount of time in the bottle. It only costs 230 MXN (12.24 USD).
Another incredibly cheap Mexican wine is Misión Tinto, produced by Vinícola Santo Tomás in the Santo Tomás Valley, with a blend of Cariñena and Tempranillo grapes. It is not barrel-aged and costs only 163 MXN (8.67 USD).
Best Mexican wines 2018
According to the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), one of the world’s leading wines in the sector, among the best Mexican wines of 2018 were Shiraz 2013, from Bodegas Don Leo, Santos Brujos Tempranillo 2014, from Bodegas Viñas del Sol, and Petite Syrah. 2016, by L.A. Cetto. All red.
The red wines Nebbiolo 2016, from Bodegas Cuna de Tierra, Casa Grande Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, from Casa Madero and Malbec 2016, from Bodegas Guanamé, were also recognized.
Mexican red wines you must try
El Canto de Luna is a Mexican red wine that deserves to be tasted. It is raised by Finca La Cordillera in Valle de Guadalupe with a mix of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo. Its color is pomegranate red with fruity aromas, dry and frank on the palate, with a good balance of acidity and tannins.
In the group of sweet Mexican wines, the Generoso Ferriño is a great choice. It is made in the Cuatrociénagas Valley (Coahuila) by Bodegas Ferriño, with a 50/50 mix of Cariñena and Tokay grapes.
Best-selling wines in Mexico
According to the Mercado de Vinos portal, the 3 best-selling labels in Mexico are:
1. Incognito (Cabernet Sauvignon / Zinfandel / Grenache, Valle de Guadalupe, without barrel aging, 299 MXN / 15.91 USD).
2. Mariatinto (tempranillo / syrah / grenache / carignan / mouvedre / petite syrah / cabernet sauvignon, Ensenada, Mexico; 12 months in barrel, 595 MXN / 31.65 USD).
3. Pruno (tempranillo / cabernet sauvignon. Ribera del Duero, Spain; 12 months in barrel, 443 MXN / 23.57 USD).
We invite you to share this article so that your friends also know the 12 best Mexican red wines.
See also:
- Read our guide on the 20 best Chilean wines you should drink
- We leave you our guide with the 17 best Italian wines that you must try
- Click here to know the 30 best French wines that you must drink
