Wine Frontiers | Spain: Bierzo...Valencia...Jerez...

About 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, in northwestern Spain's Bierzo, enthusiastic young winemakers are rediscovering the old hillside vineyards and making stunningly aromatic and complex vintages. The area's top new wineries include Corullón, Paixar, Dominio de Tares, Valtuille and Tilenus. In the long-forgotten southeastern corner of Spain, which includes Valencia, Murcia and eastern Castilla-La Mancha, the scorching summer sunshine, cold winters and aridity of high plateaus all combine to produce exceptional red varietals. Up-and-coming wineries like Casa Castillo, Finca Luzón, Castaño and Olivares are experimenting with Syrah, along with more traditional grapes like Monastrell (known in other parts of the world as Mourvèdre) and Grenache. Even farther to the south, new wineries, such as El Maestro Sierra and Rey Fernando de Castilla, are pumping life into Jerez, an area known for fortified wines, which for many years suffered from overproduction.

Published February 2005