Driving around Jumilla, a rugged wine region wedged between Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the plains of La Mancha, it is impossible to avoid passing the Castillo de Jumilla—an enduring landmark of Jumilla’s storied past. The castle comes into view when entering or leaving the region’s namesake town, regardless of which direction you are driving or which route you take. When my husband and I visited last summer, we joked we were like goldfish in a bowl swimming past the castle every time we passed but continually stunned by its presence, as if noticing it for the first time.
If Jumilla literally exists in the shadow of the castle, it figuratively exists in its own shadow as the producer of inexpensive bulk wines as well as the shadow of more famous wine regions to the north. Here the main grape is Monastrell, a rich, juicy red variety which fans of wines from the Rhône Valley will recognize as Mourvèdre and our Australian friends may know better as Mataro. With a winemaking history stretching back 5,000 years, as evidenced by archeological finds including the oldest seeds found in Europe; the highest percentage of organic vineyards of any region in the
