Club Vinissimus Selection May 2021

La Mancha, the sleeping giant

Despite its tough climate, La Mancha is home to half of all Spanish vineyards. Severe winters bring cold temperatures and biting winds while summers see day after day of hot baking sun. Landscapes stretch out into the distant horizon where the flatness of never-ending plains is only broken by the odd far away village. Weathered vines seem to have been here for ever, with the new buildings of the most prestigious wineries being the only clue to the arrival of modern life in this historic winemaking world.

The five counties of Castile-La Mancha cover, totally or partly, eleven different protected status appellations: DO Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, DO Almansa, DO Jumilla, DO La Mancha, DO Manchuela, DO Valdepeñas, DO Uclés, DO Ribera del Júcar, DO Mondéjar, DO Méntrida and DO Vinos de Pago. The latter is used to designate specific localized areas with special soil and climate characteristics producing unique and distinct wines. The Vino de Pago category is a protected denomination in its own right and, interestingly, most estates boasting this label are to be found in the region of Castile-La Mancha.

However, La Mancha wines do not always share the prestige other Spanish wine regions enjoy. For different reasons, people often remember them as low quality wines; strong, dark-coloured wines lacking in expressiveness. Fortunately, winemaking has moved on and slowly but surely wines from the region are gaining in quality and reputation. More care is taken in choosing the best vineyards, paying for the best fruit, and working to produce thrilling wines based on know-how and experience alongside modern methods and equipment. Many wineries are committed to searching for the essence of their terroir to create wonderful wines, and many more will soon follow. It seems like La Mancha has woken up and is no longer the sleeping giant of Spanish wines.