Wine: Fruits of passion

Like its food and music, Spanish wines can be fiery, interesting and with a rustic panache, which add happy alternatives to bland global manipulations of taste palettes aimed at pleasing the unadventurous.

Murcia is not a wine region we have heard much about, but as we tire of better known choices from Rioja and Ribero del Duero, a flight of fancy to Alicante can lead us west to the region which is working hard at providing interesting Iberian options.

Murcia comprises the wine regions of Bullas, Yecla and the better known Jumilla, and was founded in the ninth century by a Moorish caliph whose Arab name was Mursiyah. Its fertile plains and ample rainfall prompted the cultivation of vegetables, fruits and eventually grapes for making wine.

Located west of Alicante, Murcia with Valencia are the two 'autonomias' of the Levant. Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas are the three DOs (Denominaciôn de Origen is the main Quality Wine classification) and are better known to us than to the Spaniards, because about 75% of the better wines are exported.

Having produced bulk wines for the rest of Spain, the region is now moving towards bottling their own and being proud of what they produce. 30 years of massive investment in smart technology, stainless steel tanks, temperature control and oak barrels is just beginning to yield results.

The common grape variety of the three zones is Monastrell, native to the region, which withstands the high temperature of the summer and as little as 300ml of rainfall a year.

They have also introduced non-local varieties of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Garnacha which are often used in blends designed to please the export market for less aggressive wines. However, in many cases they still manage to retain an individuality particularly suited to pairing with rich food. White varieties are Airên and Macabeo (and Merseguera in Yecla) usually in light to medium weight and rosés are successfully made from Monsastrell.

Individuality is the key to the wines of uplands Bullas DO Bodegas Balcona, whose wines with eucalyptus, liquorice hints, elegant fruit and non-aggressive tannins are not yet available in Ireland, are worth seeking out when in Spain as they are committed to quality, are still little known and hence underpriced. Watch for their Partal Reserva and Casa Delacruz.

At home, there is plenty to sample from the region, with wines just coming to Coman Wholesale, Dublin who will soon be distributing wines from the Castano vineyards of Yecla which produce the Hécula, Castano and Pozuelo labels.

This is an adventurous winery experimenting successfully with a local Macabeo variety blended with Chardonnay, giving a full white mouthful with good acidity, and light fruit which is perfect for fish dishes. It seems 2004 was a good year for everything in the region, so stock up on Castano Colecciôn 2004 red and keep for at least 2 years to allow to mellow a little.

Organic ethos

Perhaps the best all round collection of wines comes from Casa Castillo, where the Vicente family produces some of the best wines of the Jumilla region and has an organic ethos. "I am not a fundamentalist," says José Maria, a former architect and the son who has followed his parents and maternal grandmother into the business. "So I am not certified organic. I have to be free to use what I need to, but this dry climate means we don't have to use chemicals against moulds."

This is not a gimmick or marketing tool at the 400 hectare farm and his aim is to produce wine for enjoying with food, which keeps the fruitiness of each individual grape type and its own local character, not overdoing the oak, so the natural flavour speaks for itself.

"The dilemma is to produce a wine which shows the power of the grape, yet has finesse. At one end is power, at the other elegance. They need to meet in the middle."

Monastrell, known as Mourvedre in France, is recognizable for its dark powerful, nearly black colour with a purple hue. In the mouth it is powerfully fruity with quite high acidity which makes it so good with food. The Pie Franco and Las Gravas (the latter blended with a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) labels are excellent examples - elegant as its maker wanted them to be, and it is also worth seeing what Vicente has constructed with the non-native Syrah grape labelled Valtosca. Fortunately these wines are imported by Approach Trade in Carrick-on-Suir. Ring 051 640164 for nearest stockists.

?More Agapito Rico was the first winery of Jumilla to change perceptions about the wines of the region. Available in Dunnes Stores; watch for Carchelo Crianza 2000. La Purisima is another label available in Ireland, but for me not worth the effort. There are more interesting examples from this region which will better whet the appetite. For 2005 let us avoid safe bets and live a little.