The province of Murcia, in the hinterland of Valencia, is home to three controlled origins: Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas. All three can be counted among the emerging regions of Spain, with Jumilla, with its 30,000 hectares, not only the largest but also the most important. The D.O. Bullas, on the other hand, has yet to become known. All three origins used to be known more for growing very inexpensive bulk wines. In the 1990's however there was a real surge in quality, which has created great anticipation for the future.
Certainly, the involvement of the well-known Bordelais trading house Mähler-Besse in Jumilla has also drawn a lot of attention to this region of Spain. Even though white wine is grown in all three regions, the focus is clearly on red wines, and here very specifically on the Monastrell grape variety. In the dry climate on the calcareous and clayey soils, as well as in some places on alluvial soils, this grape variety finds very good conditions.
In addition to Monastrell, other varieties such as Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon are also cultivated, which are sometimes vinified as single varietals and sometimes as cuvées. In the meantime, this has resulted in some very remarkable wines. The white wines, on the other hand, are rather plain and do not show any particularly striking characteristics. The rosé wines are quite recommendable.
