WINES OF THE SOUTHERN PLATEAU

The Central Plateau (including the Northern and southern sub plateaus and the autonomous regions of Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, with Madrid in the middle of them) represents a summary of the Spanish wine production. It is here where the widest production of the country can be found, and, especially in the northern area, where some of the best wines are made. Next, we will see the different denominations of origin classified by regions.

Saying wines of the South Plateau means saying La Mancha. In the lands of El Quixote, wine production is the most important economical and cultural sector. In fact, this is the autonomous region with the largest vineyard surface, not only in Spain but all over the world, and, besides, we are talking about the second most productive region. La Mancha produces nearly a half of the total wine volume of the country.

There have been, traditionally and historically, two denomination of origin, La Mancha and Valdepeñas. However, in the last times other ten different denominations have joined them, completing the wide range of offers of the wine from Castilla-La Mancha: Almansa, Mentrida, Mondéjar, Jumilla (this D.O. is shared with the Region of Murcia, and has been commented in the article on the wines from the South-eastern Coastal regions), Ribera del Júcar, and finally a number of innovative areas with what in Spanish is called “vinos de pago”(i.e.: wines made with the winery’s own vineyards): The pioneer Dominio de Valdepusa, Finca Elez, Pago Guijoso and Finca Dehesa del Carrizal.

The first symbol of identity of the D.O. La Mancha is being the world’s largest vineyard, with 193.133 hectares that spread through the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo. Here it is produced a 30% of the total amount of wine made in Spain.

Traditionally there was a commonplace stating that La Mancha would produce a large amount of wine without any quality control. But today that opinion seems to be disappearing, as wine producers are making wines with great balance and bouquet very appropriated to current consumers’ tastes. Thus, traditionally, la Mancha had mainly been a land of light white wines with low acidity and kind of neutral, based on the airén grape. Cencibel-based red wines use to be consumed when they are youthful, and they are light, soft, with an easy passage by mouth. The above mentioned grape has also been the main ingredient for vintage reds and rosés. Actually, pink wines are thought to be the future of the region’s wines. The D.O. Valdepeñas is situated in the southern edge of the Southern Castilian sub plateau. Although there are also produced white airén-based wines, rosés and clarets, the main variety of the region has historically been the cencibel grape, with which there have been produced youthful, light and fresh red wines, showing a subtle bouquet and low acidity. Nevertheless, they have found in the tempranillo manchega grape a good base with which new and interesting single variety wines could be made, serving as a renewal in the image of the region’s classic wines. In addition to this, it is being enhanced their aging in barrel and bottle, where they acquire a very nice bouquet that makes them soft in mouth and with a long aftertaste.

The D.O. Almansa is located in the province of Albacete, in the south-eastern highlands, that is why its wines have got more in common with this region’s wines than with the wines from La Mancha. Thence south-eastern coastal varieties such as the garnacha tintorera and the monastrell stand for the base of its wines, although the local cencibel is gaining ground. The main characteristic of these red wines is their high bouquet and colour intensity. Although, traditionally, it was a bulk wine producing area, some bolder wineries are being able to enhance the power of the monastrell grape, as in the south-eastern coastal areas, especially by combining it with tempranillo (or cencibel), searching a space in foreign markets.

The D.O. Manchuela lies halfway between the provinces of Albacete and Cuenca. It has become a Designation of Origin in year 2000, although it has a longer History. Since it is in the boundary between La Mancha and Levante, the predominant variety is not cencibel but the Levantine bobal. In the past, its wines were famous for their bulk sale, especially of those made with a double amount of red grape skin and only one part of grape juice (in Spanish “vinos de doble pasta”), which in other regions are used as mixing wines. In the recent years, however, they have chosen to produce more elaborated -both white, pink and red- wines, Thanks to the technological support these red wines are starting to show good qualities, even in some vintage reds.

The D.O. Méntridais located north of the province of Toledo. It should be noted in it the preponderance of the red garnacha grape above the rest of varieties. With this grape pink, red and “doble pasta” red wines are produced. Some wineries are starting to use French grapes with excellent results.

The D.O. Mondéjar lies southwest of the province of Guadalajara. It is a very young denomination, even though its wines have been well-known for a long time. Under this D.O. there are produced white, pink and red wines using the most modern technological advances. In white wines malvar grape predominates, sometimes in mixture with the tornotes grape, among others. By this, there are obtained pleasant wines with a strong personality. There are far more youthful cencibel-based reds, though.

The D.O. Ribera del Jucar has been created in recent times, in 2003. It lies on a tableau highland with a specific microclimate and very appropriate soil to ensure excellent conditions for vineyard cultivation. Almost exclusively red wines are produced here. We are talking about elegant, soft and fleshy tempranillo wines (in the case of the most traditional ones), bobal-based wines, or, finally, wines made from French varieties such as merlot, syrah or cabernet sauvignon for wines with a more modern touch. With these grapes three kinds of wines are made: Youth, Tradition and Vintage. It is a D.O. that clearly bets for modernity and quality.

The D.O. Dominio de Valdepusa has made history in Spain for being the first winery to achieve a D.O. only for wines produced by it. It is the first one at making the so-called “vinos de pagos”. This has been achieved after years of research for quality in wines, putting into practice pioneer vine-growing techniques and using not very common grapes in this area, like syrah, petit verdot, cabernet sauvignon, or graciano, that have reached great results. The resulting red wines are admired by their colour depth, their balance between fruit and wood and their aromatic complexity.

The other three farms included in the new D.O. de Vinos de pagos are: Finca Élez, Pago Guijoso and Finca Dehesa del Carrizal. In all cases they are recognized for giving very unique wines of high quality (appreciated by both consumers and experts). They are wines in which there is a quite clear direct relation between wine and winery.