Sometimes, when I’m stuck in a traffic jam, I amuse myself by trying to work out what all the letters and numbers on cars actually mean — TDI, S, Rn, SE — it is all Greek to me. What you find on a wine label can be just as bewildering.

Most countries have their own accreditation system and it is not uncommon to see the following acronyms on your wine bottles — VQPRS, AOC, VDT, DOCG, and so on. You think you are just about getting to grips with it all and then another term pops up that you need to familiarise yourself with.

One of the least well-known is the Spanish category known as DO Pago. On its own ‘DO’ is the Denomination of Origin; one of the most widely-recognised being Rioja. So a wine that says DO Rioja on the bottle would have to be made in that region from a list of permitted grape varieties.

You would be forgiven for thinking then that Pago is a place, but no. Pago is the Spanish word for a country estate or property and it is not uncommon to hear it used by winemakers to describe a wine from a specific vineyard site.

DO Pago — all together — is a relatively recent category that has been established to recognise vineyards that have particularly unique geographical and climatic characteristics, setting them apart from surrounding areas. To receive DO Pago accreditation (the highest possible in Spain) a vineyard must have produced top-quality wines for at least ten years.

Currently, there are only five producers in the whole of Spain to have achieved DO Pago status: Dominio de Valdepusa (Toledo); Finca Élez (Albacete), El Guijoso (Albacete), Dehesa del Carrizal (Toledo) and, most recently, Arínzano (Navarra).

The Arínzano estate was bought by the Chivite family in 1988 in the belief that the site’s quality would ultimately deliver some of the best wines in Spain. The vineyards are situated in the north-east of the country and occupy one of the outlying valleys of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Fernando Chivite set out on his journey towards DO Pago status when he decided to make red wines from Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted on this site.

He said: “We wanted to do something different and were confident in the conditions. We also wanted to express the character of the grapes through classic winemaking.”

Crucial to the success of the project was marrying the grape varieties to the optimum plot. No room for trial and error here. Chivite spent time and money on extensive scientific research before identifying the ideal home for his vines.

An elaborate winery was designed by architect Rafael Moneo — who also designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and the Stockholm Museum of Art — and was built from environmentally-friendly materials.

Inside, the winery was kitted out with the latest and best technology to ensure the very best winemaking and the opportunity to treat each variety individually and in the conditions that suit it best.

For me one of the most refreshing decisions taken by Chivite has been to avoid the traditional Spanish ageing classifications giving them more freedom and ultimately the opportunity to use less oak.

Finally in 2007 Arínzano became the first site to be awarded DO Pago status in the north of Spain. In celebration of the achievement we lucky wine writers were recently invited to taste three of the Gran Vino de Pago de Arínzano vintages from the start of the decade. It was a tasting that did not disappoint.

In 2000 Tempranillo represented just 35 per cent of the blend, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon making up the remaining two thirds. I loved the savoury, robust quality of this wine; rather like meeting someone with a reassuringly firm handshake, you just know you’re going to enjoy the experience.

Come 2001 Tempranillo was just under half of the blend and there was a lengthier period of oak ageing. The oak has left a bigger impression on the fruit here and I found it smoky, leathery and chocolate driven. My colleagues loved it for its attractive ‘drink me now’ quality and I know just what the mean.

However, the 2002 was just singing and dancing for me. For the first time, Tempranillo is just over 50 per cent of the blend and Cabernet Sauvignon has been reduced to 16 per cent. Climatically it was cooler than the previous vintages and there was less rain too.

As a result, yields were low but the resulting grapes had fantastic concentration of flavour. It was unquestionably less open than the previous wines and it will be a wine that rewards the patient. Its ‘keeper’ qualities are the fantastically rich fruit and the still tight tannins and crunchy acidity.

Sadly, the wines aren’t available in the UK yet and when they are you’ll be paying somewhere between £40 and £45 for the DO Pago experience. However, you can taste a little of the magic with the Chivite Coleccion 125 range of wines.

The Chivite Colección 125 Reserva has an opulent, Autumnal feel with generous fruit. The 1999 vintage is available from Portland Wine Company (www.portlandwine.co.uk, 0161 962 8752) at what I think is a very respectable £14.99.

The same company also stocks the Chivite Colección 125 Gran Reserva 1996. It’s the sort of wine that definitely becomes more interesting with age and you should enjoy its refreshing nuances. At £16.99 you get plenty of wine for your money and just a whiff of what the Pago wines have to offer.