Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The area includes the municipality of
Jumilla
Jumilla () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Spain. It is located in the north east of the Region of Murcia, close to the towns of Cieza and Yecla. According to the 2018 census, the town population was 25,547.
Geography
The municipa ...
, from which it takes its name, and the contiguous southeast of the
Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-ea ...
Fuente-Álamo
Fuente-Álamo is a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It lies 61 km (37.9 mi) from the provincial capital and had a population of 2,639 as of 2011.
Etymology
According to tradition, the name ''Fuente-Álamo'' ("popl ...
,
Ontur
Ontur is a township of the province Albacete in Spain, located about 73 kilometers from the capital of the province, Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous co ...
Tobarra
Tobarra is a municipality in the province of Albacete in Spain, with a population of c. 8,000 as of 2009.
The area is famous for its "Moniquí" variety of apricots, its drum processions (''tamboradas'') and its Holy Week observances, declared by ...
) in the Castile-La Mancha region. It is one of Spain's leading wine regions.
History
During the outbreak of the
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
plague in the 19th century the region surprisingly escaped contamination and so entered a period of economic expansion as wine merchants from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
came in great numbers to buy wine. For this reason the vines were never regrafted onto resistant rootstock from the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
as was the case in the rest of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
However, the phylloxera pest unexpectedly struck in 1989, devastating the vineyards and reducing production by 60% over the next five years. Replanting and grafting was slow and expensive but allowed the region to adopt the new methods of grape growing and wine making that were already proving successful in the neighbouring DOPs of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
This DOP is characterised by wide valleys and plateaus in the presence of mountains. It is a transition zone between the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
coastal area and the high central plateau of Castile-La Mancha, and so the altitude of the vineyards varies between 400 and 800 m.
Climate
The climate is continental (long hot summers and cold winters), tempered by the closeness of the Mediterranean Sea. The area is arid. Rainfall is low (around 300 mm/year) and irregular, though it mostly falls during spring and autumn, often in the form of violent storms which can sometimes cause damage to the vines.
The average annual temperature is 16 °C. A maximum of 40 °C can be reached in summer, and minimums below 0 °C in winter. There is a risk of frost up to the month of March, exceptionally until April. The vines receive over 3,000 hours of sunlight per year.
Soils
The soils are dark, lime bearing and sometimes with a hard lime crust. In general, they are permeable and have good moisture retaining properties, which allows the vines to survive during periods of prolonged drought. They are poor in organic material and their structure does not favour the propagation of phylloxera. They are quite sandy, allowing good aeration, have a high pH value and are low in salinity.
Grape varieties
The authorised grape varieties are:
* Red grapes: Monastrell,
Tempranillo
Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...
(known locally as Cencibel),
Garnacha Tintorera
Alicante Bouschet or Alicante Henri Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1866. It is a cross of Petit Bouschet (itself a cross of the very old variety Teinturier du Cher and Aramon) and Grenache.Garnacha,
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
,
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
,
Syrah
Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...
Macabeo
Macabeo, also called Viura or Macabeu (, ), is a white variety of wine grape.
It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Spanish ...
,
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
,
Sauvignon blanc
is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...
,
Moscatel de Grano Menudo
Muscatel ( ) is a type of wine made from muscat grapes. The term is now normally used in the United States to refer to a fortified wine made from these grapes rather than just any wine made from these grapes. This fortified muscatel became popu ...
Malvasía
Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world ...
.
Of these varieties, Monastrell is the most significant for Jumilla DOP, as it represents over 85% of the vines planted. Monastrell is in fact the fourth most widely planted red grape variety in Spain. Like Airén, it has good resistance to drought.
The planning density is between 1,100 vines/ha to 1,600 vines/ha for extensive planting formations, and the maximum authorised yield is 4,000 kg/ha for red varieties and 4,500 kg/ha for white varieties. For intensive planting formations the density ranges from 1,600 vines/ha to 3,200 vines/ha with maximum yields of 7,000 kg/ha for both red and white varieties.
Jumilla labeling laws
Spanish wines are often labeled according to the amount of aging the wine has received. When the label says vino joven ("young wine") or sin crianza, the wines will have undergone very little, if any, wood aging. Depending on the producer, some of these wines will be meant to be consumed very young - often within a year of their release. Others will benefit from some time aging in the bottle. For the vintage year (vendimia or cosecha) to appear on the label, a minimum of 85% of the grapes must be from that year's harvest. The three most common aging designations on Spanish wine labels are Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.
* Crianza red wines are aged for 1 year with at least 6 months in oak and 6 months in the bottle. Crianza whites and rosés must be aged for at least 1 year with at least 4 months in oak.
* Reserva red wines are aged for at least 2 years with at least 12 months in oak and 12 months in the bottle. Reserva whites and rosés must be aged for at least 18 months with at least 6 months in oak.
* Gran Reserva wines typically appear in above average vintages. The red wines require at least four years aging, twelve months of which in oak and a minimum of 36 months in the bottle. Gran Reserva whites and rosés must be aged for at least 4 years with at least 6 months in oak.
Wineries
Monterebro
Monterebro is a Spanish wine producer. and range of Spanish wines produced in Jumilla (DO), D.O.P. Jumilla, which is located in the Mediterranean wine-producing region of Region of Murcia, Murcia, in South East Spain.
The brand was created in 2 ...
, formerly Pedro Luis Martinez, established in 1870. Bodega Ego