Manchuela is a Spanish Denominación de Origen, Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the historical Manchuela comarca, in the east of the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete and Province of Cuenca, Cuenca (Castile-La Mancha, Spain) between the valleys of the Rivers Júcar and Cabriel. It was originally part of a much larger La Mancha (DO), La Mancha DOP and became a separate DOP in 2004. It is surrounded on three sides by other DOPs: La Mancha to the west, Utiel-Requena to the east and Jumilla DO, Jumilla to the south.

History

La Manchuela DOP is the seventh DOP to be created in the region of Castile-La Mancha. It includes over seventy municipalities, including Albacete itself and Motilla del Palancar in Cuenca.

Climate

The climate is continental (long hot dry summers, cold winters) influenced by the nocturnal moisture bearing winds from the Levant, which help keep the mean annual temperature down to 25°C. Temperatures in winter rarely fall low enough to cause frost. Humidity is very low and virtually no rainfall between the months of May and September.

Soil

The soil is lime-bearing clay and the vineyards are at an altitude of 600 – 700 m above sea level. There are two large reservoirs just to the north of the area which are used for irrigation of the vines.

Authorised Grape Varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red: Monastrell, Tempranillo, Cencibel, Alicante Bouschet, Garnacha Tintorera, Grenache, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Tinto de la Pámpana Blanca, Frasco, Graciano, Malbec, Mazuelo, Moravia Agria, Moravia Dulce, Pinot Noir, and Rojal * White: Albillo, Chardonnay, Macabeo, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Pardillo, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo, and Viognier

References

External links

D.O.P. Manchuela official website
{{Spanish wine regions Wine regions of Spain