Focus on Spain

The DO is divided into two subzones: Alicante Clásico and La Marina Alta. The vineyards of the Alicante Clásico subzone are located on a smaller scale around the port city of Alicante and four-fifths inland northwest of the city at an altitude of about 500 meters. The climate is almost continental with hot summers and cool winters. To the northeast is the La Marina Alta subzone, roughly in the coastal area between Altea and Dénia, the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. In this area the Mediterranean climate provides high humidity, the summers are also hot, the winters milder. La Marina Alta is mainly known for sweet wines. The total vineyard area of the DO Alicante comprises about 14,500 hectares.

Monastrell as a red showcase grape

Founded in 1932

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

the DO Alicante is one of the oldest in Spain. In the meantime, a new generation of vintners is setting new stylistic accents besides a great awareness of tradition. The international reputation of Alicante wines is growing, as they are versatile, show a great variety and have some specialities in store. The quality of the wines has increased in recent years, with a greater emphasis on origin. It is astonishing how many rather cool and often mineral wines are produced here year after year, which have hardly anything to do with the interchangeable, chocolaty all-world drops, which are also widespread in Spain. Moreover, the producers are more and more focusing on the traditional main grape varieties of the region.

The most important of these is Monastrell, a red variety from which mainly rosados and fresh young wines are made, but which, in the hands of dedicated producers, now also produces highly characteristic examples. Monastrell occupies the largest vineyards in the Vinalopó area, around 20 kilometres northwest of the city of Alicante in the Alicante Clásico. Vinalopó has a dry climate with average temperatures between 13 and 18 degrees. In summer the thermometer can climb to 30 to 40 degrees, in winter the temperature drops to minus ten degrees. The vines here are used to heat and lack of water. With their ability to adapt to extreme climatic conditions, they even serve as climate change research subjects for scientists.

Specialities: Fondillón and Muscat

Monastrell is suitable for dry red wines as Jovenes , Crianzas or Reservas as well as for sweet wines, which are however rare. Other red grape varieties in the DO Alicante are Garnacha, Alicante Bouschet (Tintorera), Bobal and Tempranillo, but also the inevitable Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and even Pinot Noir. A speciality is the red wine Fondillón, made from overripe, healthy Monastrell berries, which is produced as a sweet wine or as a rancio. It is partly produced in the solera method, matures for at least eight years in the barrel and has between 16 and 18 percent alcohol by volume. There are only less than ten producers for Fondillón worldwide, all of them located in the DO Alicante.

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

The white grapes grown in Alicante are Merseguera , Moscatel Romano (Moscatel de Alejandría aka Alexandriner Muskat), Macabeo, Airén, as well as small amounts of Chardonnay and Riesling . The Muscatel produces dry wines, but also liqueur specialities. They mostly come from La Marina Alta, where a wetter climate with more rainfall and less clayey soils offer Muscat grapes favourable growing conditions. La Marina Alta also produces red wines from Garnacha grapes and sparkling wines. In addition, a varietal white wine is produced here from very sweet, overripe Moscatel Romano grapes, fortified to 15 percent alcohol by volume.

The current vintages

The DO Alicante calls itself the "home of spring". The variety and quality of Alicante wines is evidenced by the bodegas that have submitted their current collections for tasting at Wein-Plus:

Heretat de Cesilia / Casa Sicilia
In Novelda, about 30 kilometers away from Alicante, there is the Casa Sicilia estate, which was founded by the first marquis of La Romana at the beginning of the 18th century. Here, the Heretat de Cesilia wine estate resides in the middle of extensive vineyards. 30 of the total 80 hectares of land belonging to Casa Sicilia are used for viticulture. The loess-loam soils contain a high percentage of limestone and iron oxide

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

In the north of the estate, the soil is characterized by clay and gypsum, so that mainly red grapes like Monastrell, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and also small amounts of Petit Verdot are grown here. In the south, the soil is predominantly calcareous alluvial rock and forms the base for white grape varieties such as Macabeo, Moscatel, Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay, as well as Albariño and Loureira. The Mediterranean climate has a continental influence. Throughout the year, humidity is relatively low, allowing the grapes to ripen well. Heretat de Cesilia cultivates its vineyards organically and does not use any chemical agents; only sulphur and copper are used, if it cannot be avoided.

Bodegas Bocopa
Bodegas Bocopa are located in Petrer, 50 kilometres from Alicante, in the Vinalopó Medio area. They were founded in 1987 by eight cooperatives with around 2,000 members. Bocopa cultivates about 60 percent of the vineyards in the DO Alicante. The red varieties cultivated are Monastrell, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and the white varieties are Macabeo, Merseguera and Moscatel de Alejandria. The flagship wines of the bodegas are the "Marina Alta", a dry muscatel, and the red "Laudum". Recently, "Marina Espumante" has also been offered as a sparkling wine.

Sierra de Cabreras
Sierra de Cabreras is located in Salinas, in the Alto Vinalopó region. The six hectares of vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Monastrell, which have an average age of 15 years. The soil is mainly limestone and poor in humus, but permeable to water. The day and night temperatures are far apart. The winery works with strict yield limitation and uses gravity for vinification.

Vinessens

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

With its young, modern team and a cosmopolitan, dynamic philosophy, Vinessens is considered a "garage winery." It is based in Villena in the Alicante Clásico and produces only small quantities: Vinessens has two wines on offer, with a Mediterranean character intended to express both grape variety and origin. The red wine "Sein" is made of Monastrell, the white wine "Vinessens" is a Chardonnay fermented in wooden barrels.

Bodegas Hacienda la Serrata / Francisco Gomez
The Francisco Gomez winery is located in an idyllic valley near Villena in the Alicante Clásico. Already in Celtic, Roman and Moorish times, wine and olives were cultivated here, at an altitude of 700 metres. The estate of Hacienda la Serrata covers 3,500 hectares of land, of which 1,000 hectares are planted with vines and olive trees, including very old Monastrell vines. Moreover, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Moscatel de Alejandría are cultivated. Francisco Gomez practices organic viticulture and attaches great importance to sustainability and environmental protection.

Vins del Comtat

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

40 kilometres north of Alicante, in Cocentaina, lies the Vins del Comtat winery. It was founded in 1997 by two families who wanted to produce wine as a hobby. In the meantime, Vins del Comtat has developed from a hobby winery to a respected bodega. The vineyards are located at the foot of Montcabrer, a peak of the Montaña Alicantina mountain range. Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Giró and Pinot Noir are grown, as well as Moscatel de Alejandría, Viognier, Macabeo and Chardonnay. The most important wines of Vins del Comtat are "Cristal.li", "Pena Cadiella", "Montcabrer" and "Serrella".

Celler la Muntanya
Celler la Muntanya was founded in 2004 and is located in Muro de Alcoy, 25 kilometres west of Dénia. The company produces wine and olive oil, but does not have its own vineyards. Through the initiative "Microviña", Celler la Muntanya has small vineyard units cultivated by part-time vintners and is thus committed ecologically, economically and socially. The vineyards are cultivated organically with the support of "Microviña". Monastrell, Giró, Tintorera, Garnacha, Bobal and Bonicaire are used for the red wines, while Meseguera, Malvasia and Macabeo are grown as white grape varieties.

Bodegas Murviedro
Founded in 1927 as the Spanish branch of the Schenk Group, Bodegas Murviedro is one of the largest wine producers in the Valencia region. The company offers wines from the denominations of origin Alicante, Valencia, Utiel-Requena and Cava. With "Travitana", "Cueva del Perdón" and "Dulce de Murviedro", three wines come from the DO Alicante; their grape varieties are Monastrell and Moscatel. In 1997, Murviedro opened a new winery in Requena, about 40 kilometers west of Valencia, and in 2007, it installed a wastewater treatment plant to protect the environment.

A y M Navarro

(Photo: CRDO Alicante)

The Navarro family's wine tradition goes back more than 50 years. The winery is located in Villena, about 50 kilometers northwest of Alicante. The area has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, and humid nights, morning frosts and warm days make for special ripening conditions. The soils contain a lot of limestone, some clay and little humus. Navarro vinifies grapes from its own vineyards as well as from other suppliers, some of whom work according to the winery's technical specifications. The white grape varieties Airén, Macabeo and Moscatel as well as the red grape varieties Monastrell, Bobal, Garnacha, Tintorera, Tempranillo and Merlot are cultivated. The most important wine lines are "Miguel Navarro", "Terra Natura" and "Terra Natura Clásico".

The currently tasted wines of the DO Alicante in the wine guide