Bodegas Cerrón Matas Altas

The DO. region Jumilla extends across the northern part of Murcia and a small area of southeastern Albacete (Spain). Although the wines from this Spanish Denomination of Origin have long been recognised mainly for their powerful and concentrated reds, in recent times the area has undergone one of the fastest and most effective metamorphoses in Spanish winemaking. These new-generation projects have gone from bulk wines to quality Mediterranean reds in record time. One of the pioneering wineries that has set store by pre-phylloxera vineyards, at altitude and grown organically, is the Cerdán family in Fuente-Álamo (Albacete). Today the fourth generation, in the hands of Juanjo Cerdán and his siblings Lucía and Carlos, defends the origins of the smallholder vineyard and, thanks to a minimalist approach with maximum respect, presents us with fleshy, juicy wines bursting with fruit that are becoming a real talking point.

One of their many astonishing projects is this winery, Bodegas Cerrón Matas Altas. A red wine with humble village origins made from the region’s star variety, Monastrell, from old vines located in different parts of the community of Fuente-Álamo, at an altitude of between 850 and 940 metres. These are vines aged between 50 and 80 years, planted ungrafted in calcareous soils that are worked according to ecological notions and biodynamic treatments. Following a manual harvest, the wine is vinified in wooden vats and open barrels. The wine is then aged for 11 months in 5,000-litre “foudres” (large wooden vats) and 500-litre used barrels. Lastly, the wine is bottled without filtration or clarification.

In essence, Bodegas Cerrón Matas Altas is a great example of an authentic new-generation Mediterranean red wine. A rural wine whose concentration is in complete harmony with the freshness and fluidity of the fruit.