Monastrell
"Jumilla = Monastrell."
Monastrell is a variety of wine grape used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world. Its taste varies greatly according to the area of cultivation, but it often has a wild, gamey or slightly earthy flavour, with soft red fruit flavours. Monastrell is very late to ripen. Ripening is helped by proximity to a large body of water such as the Mediterranean Sea. The leaves have 3 to 5 lobes, the bunches are long, conical and winged. The grapes are medium-sized and blue-black in colour, with thick skins.
The variety was introduced to Catalonia by the Phoenicians in around 500 BC. Nowadays, Jumilla is the most important Monastrell producing region in the World, and nowhere else does this varietal thrive so successfully.