10 stars of the Mediterranean

TWith their passion for local grape varieties and their desire to give expression to the land, a growing number of producers in Spain’s southeast are forging new paths for the wines of the Mediterranean, bringing a variety of methods and sensibilities to their projects.

Sarah Jane Evans MW shares her 10 names to know

here is so much more to Spain’s red grape varieties than Tempranillo. Mencía, for instance, that crunchy, refreshing variety of the northwest. Garnacha, too, which has been brought back in from the cold winds of disapproval and is turning up all over, but especially in the Sierra de Gredos and the north.

Mediterranean Spain also has a cornucopia of reds – and whites. Yet these are still to achieve the recognition of those first three. The best known is Monastrell, yet it is still widely regarded as a country cousin, despite making some exceptional wines. Dig beneath Monastrell, and you will find Arcos, Bobal, Bonicaire, Forcallà, Giró and more.

Change is in the air. There’s a dynamic movement to rejuvenate abandoned vineyards and return to local varieties. Importantly, there is an impressive cohort of growers and winemakers driving change. They have roots in wine – practically all the producers are from wine-growing families. What’s different is that they have started up new projects: some of the bodegas featured here are less than 10 years old.

Love for the local

We are at a significant moment for these Mediterranean wines, with local people working on local varieties, benefiting from their knowledge of terroir and traditions. It was not easy to narrow the list down to my top 10 producers (and, indeed, the presence of a father/daughter pairing means that there are actually 11 wines).

These producers work in Alicante, Valencia, Jumilla and Manchuela, although not all of them choose to belong to their local DOs. The significant omission in the region is UtielRequena, which has some very fine Bobal producers who just missed out. They would have made a top 20, as would

Juan Gil, an established name in Jumilla – and Julia Casado of La del Terreno in Murcia, Altolandon in Manchuela, and Bodega Los Frailes, Valencian neighbour to Celler del Roure (see p33), would also certainly have joined the list.

What unites these producers is their enthusiasm and creativity. They don’t feel the need to follow the particular style of wine of their denomination. Each prefers to reflect their soil and climate. They aren’t afraid to work with apparently unknown and unpopular varieties.

Is there a Mediterranean wine style here? Are the wines linked by a philosophy? I would say yes. There’s another factor that unites the producers as people, as Pepe Mendoza (pictured here) points out: ‘Don’t forget that those of us by the Mediterranean are traders: we always have an eye to doing business with our neighbours and the outside world.’