Ellie Scott: Introducing the old vine wines of Jumilla

Despite thousands of years of winemaking history, you would be forgiven for not having heard of Jumilla. Located in the southeast of Spain, the wine region was long known for producing cheap, bulk wines. More recently much of its land has been given over to more lucrative crops like almonds and olives. But a revival of the winemaking culture centred around Jumilla’s old, and often ungrafted vines, means it is now producing some of Spain’s best wines.

Forty minutes’ drive from the city of Murcia, the bright, cloudless sky belies the cold April winds whipping across the vineyards on the altiplano. Rain is so scarce here, barely 300mm per year, that a few fat drops elicit cheers of thanks to visiting Brits, who must be responsible. In summer, temperatures can exceed 40C, with yearly sunshine hours averaging 3,000. When rainfall does arrive, it is often as torrential downpours.

An old vine at El Nido vineyard in Jumilla.

This semi-desert landscape can only support plants thanks to the composition of the soils. It is often said that grapevines like to struggle, and here they certainly do. The soils are varied from ancient tectonic movements, but carbonate content is a common feature and the most important, giving a capacity for vital water retention. Vine roots can search for water for up to ten metres and are understood to self-regulate once they hit soils from which they can take nutrients.

Monastrell

Some Monastrell wines from Bodegas Olivares.

Drought-resistant Monastrell reigns here, planted on over 70% of the 22,000 hectares in Jumilla. Other varieties include the equally sun-loving Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Elena Pacheco, third generation winemaker at Bodegas Viña Elena, explains how they have u-turned from believing in the potential of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah in the early 2000s, to becoming more convinced every year about the merits of Monastrell, particularly their 80-year-old, dry-farmed vines.

A Monastrell vine and its tendrils.

Monastrell has a reputation for making big wines with high tannins, lots of colour and high alcohol, but winemakers in Jumilla are keen to show this reputation isn’t always justified. Flavours can range from red to dark fruits, floral and herbal to more savoury olives, tomatoes, or even meaty notes. The fashion for maximum extraction is certainly waning. Elena shows how Monastrell from different sites can be used for different styles – those planted in deep sandy soils at the bottom of the valley have bigger berries and are more delicate, while those in shallow stony and chalky soils can be more structured.

A bottle of Bodegas Viña Elena Parcela Mandiles Monastrell.

Clearly well-adapted to the climate, it is also posited by locals that Monastrell clones here may have a resistance to phylloxera. Whether that is true or not, certainly the number of old vines which survive on their own rootstocks suggests that phylloxera cannot thrive here, likely down to a combination of soils, inhospitable landscapes and low-density planting. In fact, the boom of the bulk wine trade in the area came about because Jumilla’s vineyards mostly escaped the phylloxera plague which devastated the rest of Europe.

Bodegas Viña Elena vineyard.

Old Vines

Old vines, particularly pre-phylloxeric vines, are lauded globally not only for their scarcity and novelty, but for their concentration and balance of flavour. It is perhaps a moot point whether they produce better wines. The old vines here are still productive and viable financially, and it is fascinating to see how growers almost anthropomorphise their old vineyards, talking about the networks the vines form together; how aggressive they can be to new plantings; how capable they are from decades of learning how to deal with different conditions.

The landscape at Olivares Hoya de Santa Ana vineyard.

Miguel Gil of Gil Family Estates remarks on their resilience: having thought they had lost some vines to drought a few years ago it transpired that the old vines had cleverly just stayed dormant. Miguel says old vines need less work because they look after themselves and Elena agrees, adding that yields fluctuate much less than with younger vines.

Pie Franco

There is a clear desire amongst the local winemakers to preserve these old vineyards, particularly the ungrafted vines, known as pie franco (free footed), of which there are more than 1,000 hectares in Jumilla. There is a resigned frustration with bureaucracy surrounding new plantings, which are only allowed to be on American rootstocks under EU law. Many of those wanting to get the best from their Monastrell vines in Jumilla believe this will be on ungrafted vines.

Gil Family Estates have concluded this is certainly the case after numerous trials showed productivity to be equal, but quality to be much better in ungrafted vines. Miguel suggests possibly the sap doesn’t flow so easily past the graft, but they also found that berry size in ungrafted vines was much smaller, meaning a greater concentration of flavour.

Returning to tradition

Perhaps a certain disregard for current norms may serve producers well. Clarete is a traditional style of rosé usually made from co-fermenting red and white grapes on their skins, but the labelling term is not recognised by the EU or Jumilla DO. Bodegas Viña Elena’s Parcela Particiones ‘red’ is made from a field blend of ungrafted old vine Airén and Monastrell, fermented on the skins and vinified into a bright cherry-red, gluggable chilled wine.

The colour of a Clarete from Bodegas Viña Elena Parcela Particiones.

Sweet and fortified wines make up only one percent of production in Jumilla, but at Bodega Olivares’ vineyard Hoya de Santa Ana at 825 metres above sea level, desert-like conditions and cool nights bring concentration and balance in the grapes. These 55-year-old ungrafted vines are mainly used for Monastrell Dulce, a sweet wine made from late harvested grapes showing figs, toffee, spices and ageing potential.

Olivares Hoya de Santa Ana vineyard.

Preserving old vineyards

Many old vines in this region, as in others, were lost due to EU vine pull schemes in the 1980s. Elena’s father took part in the scheme and turned instead to sheep farming. Vineyards that did survive were those that were sentimentally important to the family, planted by hand and used to teach viticulture to future generations.

The old vineyard at El Nido, Jumilla.

In many cases it becomes too expensive or too difficult to maintain old vineyards. One of the main reasons the Gil family started taking care of old vines was buying El Nido vineyard for the continuity of their flagship Monastrell wine. The previous growers were forced to sell because they had no one to take care of it, a story seen all over the country. Traditionally wine in this region was made from buying grapes from many different growers, but now wineries are key to preserving old vines and they are buying their own land to do so.

Juanjo Cerdán, fourth generation winemaker at organic pioneer Bodegas Cerrón is doing just that, keenly buying up ungrafted vineyards as well as unplanted plots with good soils. He would like to see more ungrafted vines be planted in the future.

The dry climate makes organic viticulture easier here, and over 75% of wineries in Jumilla now have an organic certification. The Gil family believe farming organically is helping the longevity of their vines. Having tried EU-recommended cover crops, as well as herbicides, they discovered the best, and cheapest results were to continue with traditional ploughing to break up the soil and prevent evaporation. They are not yet self-sufficient but are moving in that direction, using solar power to clean water from the winery for irrigation, and researching long-term projects like composts from vine prunings.

To the future

While old vine Monastrell is certainly the main selling point for Jumilla, there are also other interesting styles being made. Bodega Cerrón’s El Cerrico ungrafted Airén fermented in clay amphora is a beautiful example of how good this grape can be, while garage winery Doble de Perez produces an aromatic minimal-intervention orange Verdejo.

Bodega Cerrón Stratum Wines.

If the passionate producers in this region can continue to push for sustainable, quality winemaking, Jumilla should be served well by embracing its incredible old vines alongside the innovation of the new generations who want to preserve them.

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Have you tried wines from Jumilla before? Share your experience in the comments below. 

Photos by Ellie Scott.