Jumilla, Spain: 'I visited the Spanish region which defies the odds to produce outstanding wines'

The vines, grown close to the ground, and wide spaced, did not look promising when I was there in early spring, yet each year they burst into life, making the most of whatever water might come their way, producing a crop of deep-coloured, full flavoured grapes.

They are the Monastrell variety, otherwise known as Mourvèdre or Mataro. “But these are different to the modern vines,” insisted Miguel.

“In the 1980’s there was a ruling that we had to graft all new vineyards onto American rootstocks to prevent the spread of phylloxera. These old vines were allowed to continue to grow, so we could compare them to the new vines.

"The new vines are not as hardy in our challenging conditions, and our old vines produce much better wine.”

Jumilla is a sparsely populated, wine growing region around 100 km inland from the coast of Alicante in Spain.

It is a high altitude (around 800m) area, with sandy soil topped by small chunks of limestone that crunch as you walk over them. Rainfall is between 200 and 300 mm, but the for the last three years there has been no rain at all.

The key to the survival of these old vines is the soil, where the roots can dig down deep to find whatever water might be in the limestone base.

There is a huge diurnal temperature shift between day and night which means that warm sunshine, cold nights and a pruning method that shades the vines, provides the perfect combination in this region.

Miguel Gil is the fourth generation to run Viñas Familia Gil, which was founded in 1916 by a stonemason Juan Gil.

The fifth generation, Paco, was on hand to translate our conversation but then had to dash off to catch a plane to California where the wines were being shown at a major exhibition.

With an overall estate of 900 hectares with 300 ha of vineyard owned by this family business in Jumilla, this has always been an important producer of wine, but the last 20 years, since Miguel gave up his job as an aerospace engineer, has seen a seismic shift in the quality of viticulture, winemaking, and sustainability of this company which has propelled it to global attention.

With a philosophy of “Somos Tierra” which translates as “We are Earth”, they have installed solar power which produces more energy than they use and there is a small top-notch winery that is totally off-grid.

Composting, with the help of some fat juicy worms specially imported from California ensures that nothing goes to waste while their water treatment plant conserves, treats and re-uses water.

The whole vineyard area is moving towards organic production which they hope to complete by 2030.

The amazing thing is that they have not just focussed on their wineries in Jumilla.

They have gone out across Spain and built up a portfolio of producers that encompass the light fresh wines of Rías Baixas to the structured, concentrated flavours of Priorat.

There are now 11 wineries in the group, all going through this massive sustainability and ecological programme.

It was good to meet Pepe in the nearby region of Almansa who had sold his land to the Gil family a few years ago.

His 100 ha of vineyard stretched to the horizon and looked very much like the vineyards in Jumilla, dotted with old Garnacha, Alicante Bouschet and Monastrell vines, all growing close to the ground.

“Why did you sell”, I asked him. “I have been working this land all my life as my father and grandfather did before me. But I am 74 and my children did not want to do this. They want to live their own lives.”

Remote, difficult to work vineyards are being sold all over the world as people move away from agriculture, but by buying, investing and creating sustainable entities, companies like Familia Gil are ensuring that the land is kept in production and the essential DNA of the old vines is preserved.

There is something special about old vines because they have learnt to survive through various climatic changes, which could hold the key to future agriculture.

So, with all their sustainability, conversion to organic, attention to detail and amazing gizmos such as optical grape sorting that does the work of 30 people who are difficult to recruit in middle of nowhere – are the wines any good? Definitely!

Bodegas Juan Gil Comoloco (organic) 2024, Flourish and Prosper in Howden, £13.99: If you get a reaction to red wine, try this. Special yeasts have been used to reduce the histamines in the final wine without affecting the flavour. Dark plum and cherry fruit.

Bodegas Juan Gil Yellow Label (organic) Jumilla 2023, Field and Fawcett in York £13.95: Made from organic grapes grown on dry, stony vineyards around the winery, then checked for absolute ripeness by the optical sorting machine which spits out anything that doesn’t come up to standard. The result is one of the best value wines I have come across in recent tastings.

It has ripe red berry fruit, with bramble and black cherry to the fore, a hint of oak from just 4 months in wood and an edge of spice on the long finish. Good enough for a Saturday night dinner. Also available from Flourish and Prosper in Howden, Harrogate Fine Wine, Latitude in Leeds and online from Premier Cru Fine Wine, (Premiercrufinewine.co.uk) based in Shipley.

Bodegas Juan Gil Silver Label (Organic) Jumilla, 2022, online at Premier Cru £17.89: From low yielding 40-year-old vines, optically sorted and aged in French oak for 12 months, this is a significant step up in quality, with rich, elegant, plum, cherry and bramble fruit and a hint of freshness across the palate. Sunday drinking.

Bodegas Juan Gil Blue Label (Organic) Jumilla, 2022, Flourish and Prosper in Howden, £34.99: Mainly Monastrell with a decent splash of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah in the mix which powers up the back palate to give grip and structure to the finish.