Manchuela

Manchuela is an inland appellation, tucked into the corner where the provinces of Cuenca and Albacete meet, between the rivers Júcar and Cabriel. It sounds like bulk wine and endless hectares, and for decades that’s exactly what it was: a vast sprawl of vines sold by the tonne. The good stuff was hiding underneath.

Because up here there’s altitude (vineyards well above 600 and 700 metres), chalky soils and a day-to-night temperature swing that brings freshness where you’d expect nothing but plateau heat. It’s the home of Bobal, the drought-hardy native red, and of oddball whites like Albilla. That Manchuela now says grower wine rather than jug wine is, in large part, the work of a handful of stubborn producers who started taking the place seriously.