Reviewing the Guv’nor
When you ask Expats here in Spain about their favorite inexpensive Spanish red wine the answer is usually “The Guv’nor”. And it’s the Brits who’re most likely to vaunt the accolades of The Guv’nor.
It’s irritated me to tell you the truth. So much so that I decided to do a video review of The Guv’nor.
In the video I give you a bit of a background on Spanish wines, tell you exactly what it is about The Guv’nor that bothers me, and then finish it off with a taste test comparing The Guv’nor to a few of my other favorite inexpensive red wines.
So how does the Guv’nor measure up? You have to watch the video to find out 🙂
Related: 11 Spanish Wines I recommend (and that are affordable)
A few other resources
The Unpretentious Guide of Spanish Wines
5 Great value Red wines you can find at Mercadona
The Spanish Beer Challenge (video)
They’re similar in style but The Guv’nor red found in the UK is different and definitely superior in quality to the Spanish version. That’s my experience anyway. Try them side by side if you can and you’ll see what I mean.
So the label is not the only difference between the UK and Spain versions. The biggest reason for the price difference between the 2 countries is that the UK taxes wine a lot – the highest level in Europe! Duty is almost £3.00 a bottle + VAT on top.
¡Salud!
Completely confused. I bought this for about 10 euro yesterday from a German wine specialist. I told the wines I like and he recommended this, telling me it was not tempranillo but some other very Spanish sounding grape. So enthusiastically I bought it and realised there’s no grape listed. Doesn’t taste bad, but somehow leaves a dirty aftertaste in the knowledge there’s nothing special about it afterall and I probably paid more in tax/markup than in wine quality.
Hi Colleen,
You’re absolutely right. The Guv´nor is a blended wine by Felix Solis wineries and you won’t find regions or grapes listed. You’re also absolutely right about the markup (costs less than 3 Euros at Mercadona here in Spain). The Guv’nor is a decent everyday drinking wine but is far from a high end Spanish wine.
I did this wine post for the holidays. You might find it helpful 🙂
I first had The Guv’nor in a wine box that my son bought me last Christmas (2023) and thought that I recognised the name and thought that on previous Spanish trips I had seen it.
The wine was jolly nice and when I went to Spain in March this year, found it in my local Mercadona for €2.95.
I checked on Majestic Wine and they sell it for £9.99 with a different front label, but it’s the same wine from Felix Solis. https://www.majestic.co.uk/wines/the-guvnor-14666
Unbelievable mark up.
Wow, yes. Same happens in Canada. The Guv’nor also has a very good white – with a dark green label (the one with the light green label not as good). In both cases, excellent value wines!
We have been drinking Australian Black Stump but have found the guvnor much easier to drink and our neighbours love it also
Australian Black Stump? It sounds like a disease. Never heard of that one…
I don’t like the name of the wine and I was not holding high hopes for it but it tastes pretty great.
Yes, it’s not bad 🙂