Autor:
Gedeth Network
Coincidiendo
con
nuestra
misión comercial de vinos y productos de Castilla-La Mancha a Australia,
publicamos este
artículo invitado de Brian
Murdock, estadounidense afincado en España autor, entre otros, de
dos
libros
sobre el vino español.
Though
Spain is a land with thousands of years of experience in the tradition of
winemaking, it hasn’t been until the last 30 years that it has begun to flex its
muscles and shown the world what it can really do. Castilla-La Mancha is no
exception. In fact, I’d say it is one of the finest examples of this exciting
and delicious phenomenon.
This
region in the heart of Spain currently comprises the largest grouping of
vineyards in the world. Traditionally this land focused on quantity and
paid less attention to other details like good quality. That meant very
inexpensive but rather uninspired products that supplied the almost insatiable
needs of daily wine consumers in places like nearby Madrid. Faced with changing
drinking habits and greater demands for higher standards, the winemakers of
Castilla-La Mancha have proven they can rise to the occasion and now offer an
impressive array of terrific wine at generally very competitive prices.
While
the white grape variety Airen is so widely grown here it is currently
the third most widely planted in the world, ironically red wines dominate the
picture. Tempranillo (still locally called Cencibel in some
cases) takes center stage, but others, like Garnacha, Cabernet
Sauvignon and Syrah also appear frequently. At their simplest,
they are flavorful and go down easily.
Castilla-La
Mancha is home to nine appellations (denominaciones de origen), the
total of which makes up one third of all the vineyards in Spain. The largest,
D.O. La Mancha, is the biggest region in the country.
D.O. Valdepenas was once one of the biggest suppliers of
Madrid’s thirsty drinkers. It still produces light and easy reds for nearly a
steal.
There
are a handful of smaller appellations which complete this mosaic and are
marketing some outstanding wines. These include, the meaty reds from
D.O. Méntrida, D.O. Manchuela and its characteristic reds and
roses made from the Bobal grape, D.O. Almansa with its
fine Monastrell reds, D.O. Mondéjar, D.O. Uclés, D.O. Ribera
del Júcar, and D.O. Jumilla, though this last one is
centered in the neighboring region of Murcia. They all have excellent selections
for great value.
The
term VT (Vino de la Tierra) can often refer to wine regions
that aspire to be a D.O. one day, but VT Castilla has a twist to it. It is a
super viniculture region which includes wines from any part of Castilla-La
Mancha. Many wineries from the regular D.O.’s produce for this one and some of
the finest bottles are marketed under this label.
In
addition, this is also a region fraught with maverick winemakers who wish to do
things their own way. Half a dozen of them have established their own very
D.O.’s, a distinction which allows them to design very personal wines and which
list among the best Spain has to offer. They are called vinos de pago
(essentially “estate wines”) and they include Dehesa de
Carrizal, Dominio de Valdepusa, Finca
Elez, El Guijoso, Florentino and
Calzadilla.
So,
in the land of Don Quixote, where it was previously believed that winemakers
might never live up to their great potential, we can gladly confirm that the
once “impossible” dream of turning wines from these regions into international
hits has now happily come true.
Brian Murdock
Spanish Wine and Spanish Culture
Let’s Open a Bottle (2004) - updated version on the way
Spanish Wine: A pocket guide (2006)
A Pilgrim with no Direction (2012)
Un peregrino sin rumbo (2012)
Información: T 920 043 005 
