As one of the first American wine writers to conduct modern field research in the Utiel-Requena DO, an extreme winegrowing region in central Spain, I found a treasure there that has been hiding in plain sight. Other than having tasted the region’s indigenous grape—Bobal—on rare occasions, I was in the dark about the region’s ancient winegrowing history. Guided by Nora Favalukus who had visited Utiel-Requena five years earlier, and presented a master class tasting on the region for the Society of Wine Educators, we embarked on a three-day immersion designed to demonstrate the modern range of style afforded by Bobal and the region’s extreme terroir. Right time for old vines As the region lies is 45 minutes northwest of Valencia, Utiel-Requena’s primary agricultural crops are oranges and almonds with one wine only recently being recognized as a value-added source of revenue for a winegrowing region that is Spain’s third-largest. You begin to see vineyards as you approach the city of Requena with themajority of wineries located here while much of the land under vine stretches …