Murcia, Spain
Jumilla DO
A blend of 90% Monastrell and 10% Grenache that absolutely erupts with ripe red fruits and spiced dark fruits. The Monastrell lends an intensity of spice and game meats with the Grenache amplifying the power of the fruit. The finish is long and fresh with a gentle tannic bite and a hint of potted earth. Very juicy, very satisfying and the perfect pairing for your next backyard BBQ.
More Info
As Spain’s winemaking revolution evolves, Jumilla continues to produce some of the world’s great wine values. The region’s native Monastrell—Mourvèdre elsewhere—is one of the most prized varieties of Mediterranean Europe. Yet Jumilla has a diversity of terroirs, certain of which clearly transcend mere “value.” And the wines of the Selva family’s Bodegas Olivares have done just that, thanks to a singular terroir and 65 hectares of ungrafted prephylloxera vines.
Olivares’ estate vineyard, Finca Hoya de Santa Ana, is located in Jumilla’s northwestern quadrant, at over 800 meters elevation, where nights cool down quickly, resulting in wines with astounding freshness and equilibrium. Perhaps more importantly, sandy chalky soils give Bodegas Olivares’ wines their perfumed aromatics, and were also anathema to the Phylloxera root louse that devastated all but a handful of Europe’s vineyards in the late 1880s.
Almost as important as the ungrafted vines is the fastidious care they have enjoyed. Generations of consistent pruning mean the vines are far less twisted, and usually much healthier, than similar plots elsewhere in Spain. With steady wind and a dry climate, there is little disease pressure; thus there was never any need to adopt chemical fertilizers or pesticides. In fact, Paco estimates that the vineyards have been farmed sustainably since the 1930s!