Wine has been made in our first destination, Jumilla, for more than 5,000 years.
The region spans Spain’s Castilla and Murcia provinces, a high, harsh, arid place where sturdy old Monastrell vines send roots deep into limestone-based soils and bush pruning shades ripening grapes.
It’s long been a source of cheap and cheerful reds, but there’s much more realisation now that wines from those long-lived vines can be seriously attractive yet still sensibly priced for their quality.
There are a few whites and rosés, but reds are what Jumilla is all about – with a quarter of all the world’s Monastrell vines.
Many remain on their own rootstocks, for the region fortunately avoided the curse of phylloxera.
Monastrell (Mourvèdre in France, Mataro in Australia) ripens late, the thick skins of its small berries preserving characteristic dark fruit aromas – and it has the particular advantage here of being drought resistant.
Despite climate chaos, Jumilla’s future looks bright, with emphasis on preserving genetic diversity, to make the vines more resilient to the heat, and on sustainable farming, to avoid the region becoming a dried-out wasteland.
Though many of the region’s 1,400 wine growers are small, they take a world view, with two-thirds of sales outside Spain.
Fortunately, UK drinkers are firmly in the sights of one of the largest exporters.
The Gil family has been bottling Monastrell for more than a century, and the grape remains the core of a business that now stretches through nine other Spanish regions.
Grapes from Bodegas Juan Gil’s wines are excellent value, from Pedrera (from £9.50), bright, juicy and fragrant, to deep, rich, smoothly oaked Silver Label (from £17).
The higher up the range, the more old-vine grapes, many tended organically, go into the wines.
You’ll find them at independent merchants – allaboutwine.co.uk has both these and more, including minimal-intervention Comoloco (£12) and very smart Monastrell-plus-cabernet Sauvignon El Nido Clio (£38.50).
Look on wine-searcher.com for more stockists.
In sharp contrast are Portugal’s Vinos Verdes, crisp, youthful and easy whites for summer, often with a touch of spritz and lowish in alcohol.
But, as a recent London showcase tasting demonstrated, that’s only part of the story.
I tried examples stretching back to 2016 and there were some hugely impressive wines that could challenge posh Chablis, though with their own unique flavours and at a price that reflects their rarity.
Wonderful work is being done with the Alvarinho grape in the Monção and Melgaço sub-region particularly – grown-up wines that age elegantly and partner all kinds of food.
A pioneer there is Soalheiro, whose fine, mid-price Granit Mineral Selection (£21) is at highburyvintners.co.uk.
Be less ambitious, and there are rewarding, easily available Vinhos Verdes, often blending other regional grapes such as Loureiro or Arinto with Alvarinho.
Examples include those from the Sogrape group’s Azevedo estate (£10.25, Waitrose, or spend only a little more for high-quality, silky and delicious lightly oaked Escolhas, from £13, londonendwines.com).
I can’t leave cool north-western Iberia without recommending my favourite Rías Baixas Albariño (same grape, Spanish spelling), from Mar de Frades (£17.50, Tesco).
Charismatic, innovative Paula Fandiño extracts the essence of this sea-girt area in wines that are as distinctive as their bright blue, wave-decorated bottles.
A final destination must be Rioja, where Spain’s best-known denomination is celebrating its centenary.
While there has already been a London festival to mark the occasion, plenty of time remains to experience an increasing variety of wines, well beyond the old-style supercharged cream-and-coconut oaked versions both red and white.
For the latter, look out for rare local grapes Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Blanca, a tasty change from more widespread Viura.
Both appear in high-altitude Ramon Bilbao Limite Norte (£20 slurp.co.uk), which ages so gracefully – the 2017 vintage is still drinking beautifully.
For other whites, and rarer rosés, study the shelves or websites of independent merchants.
As for reds, the choice is huge.
For palates like mine, gently-handled French oak and an increasing interest in fermentation in concrete vats are happily bringing more delicacy and emphasis on grape flavour.
Again, Ramon Bilbao ticks all my boxes with pure Garnacha Limite Sur (also £20 at Slurp).
- Liz Sagues is a committee member and events co-organiser at the Circle of Wine Writers and author of A Celebration of English Wine (Robert Hale, 2018) and Sussex by the Glass (Tanwood Press, 2021)
