It was rather like the first day of term after the long summer holiday, when the Moraira-Teulada U3A wine tasting group held its first meeting of the new season.
Like a bunch of naughty children, some tasters – you know who you are – just couldn’t stop talking throughout the presentation despite repeated requests for a bit of shush.
Even with the din from those who should have been put in the naughty corner, it was a great start to the tasting season with five wines from Bodegas Bleda in Jumilla.
Fifty six tasters, 51 returners and 5 newbies, gathered in the Hill Top Bar in Moraira for the presentation by Marta, who had made the 350 km round trip with colleague Pedro and a van load of wines from the bodega, now run by the fourth generation of the Bleda family.
First up was a personal favourite, the Pino Doncel Sauvignon Blanc vintage 2022. Straw yellow in colour, 13% in strength, it has a strong aroma and a taste of fresh fruits with tropical notes.
Next was the Castillo de Jumilla Rosado, made from 100% Monastrell grapes, also a vintage 2022 and 13%. Organic, pale salmon pink, with a fresh taste. It claims to be “fresh on the nose”. My nose couldn’t smell a thing, nor that of the taster beside me.
It never ceases to amaze me how two wines from exactly the same grape and grown in the same vineyard can be so different. But they are. Next was the Castillo de Jumilla Monastrell red. Same grape, same 2022 vintage, but very different and 14.5% in strength. With hints of cherries and blackberries it is well balanced, a deep purplish in colour and with a taste of mature fruits.
Highlight of the night for some was a restocking with the Pino Doncel Black. A complex blend of Monastrell, Syrah and Petit Verdot, aged in French oak for no more than five months, it has an intense aroma. An elegant and complex wine also with a taste of mature red fruit. Its 14.5% in strength matches up to the 2021 version and those that went before.
Rounding off the evening was the Castillo de Jumilla Crianza, vintage 2018, a 14.5% blend of Monastrell and Tempranillo. Cherry red, with hints of oak and coconut, it was a juicy wine to finish with. It went home with me along with the Black and the Sauvignon.
Our thanks as always go to Pat and Brian Clarke for their hard work in organising the group and to the Hill Top for the abundance of cheeses, meats and bread served to accompany the wines.
Our thanks go to Ian Graham for writing the review
