A minor revolution is underway in La Mancha, the largest wine-growing region in Spain and indeed the world. Out of the millions of kilos of grapes that are processed every year in this land of endless skylines through which Don Quixote once rode, the quality and consistency of the red wines now being created are growing all the time, while prices are still managing to be kept in check. All the major Spanish firms have a presence in this region, which has often been compared by Richard Smart to Australia.

La Mancha is a vast, flat natural region that encompasses a major part of the provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Albacete, situated on the table-land right in the heart of the country. Here, the sun really beats down on the vines, with the thermometer easily rising above 40ºC in summer and with very little rainfall. In such a dry climate, many of the plantations have opted for a system of trellising and drip irrigation. For the most innovative among them, the obvious model to follow is Australia.

Half a million hectares
The “new reds” are a mere drop in an ocean of wine – 480,000 hectares, of which only just over 193,000 are included in the D.O. La Mancha. If you travel in the region (and this year is an excellent time to do so, as it’s the 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote), you will see a horizon dominated by colossal stainless steel tanks (which could well be the modern version of the windmills that so challenged Cervantes’ hero) and enormous, industrial-scale co-operatives.

This is because La Mancha has long been known as the home of everyday wines that were sold in bulk, and were often produced to be distilled for use in the famous brandies from Jerez. The sheer numbers handled here are amazing. Consequently, it’s a good idea to look beyond the first wine from La Mancha you might be served in any old tavern in the region. You will probably find that it doesn’t do justice to the traditional local fare. In La Mancha, more than anywhere else, you need a guide to keep you on the right track.

Breaking the mould
The exciting changes that are taking place in the region are quite a recent event. If we were to look for pioneers, we would have to look at some of those individuals working away on the “periphery” of the region or the D.O., attempting to make a wine of their own in ways that went broke boundaries and shattered expectations. They were led by Carlos Falcó, in his Dominio de Valdepusa estate in the province of Toledo, which today boasts a D.O. all of its own.

Falcó was followed by Dehesa del Carrizal in Ciudad Real (1987), Sánchez Muliterno (1993) and Manuel Manzaneque (1993) in Albacete, and Uribes Madero (1995) in Cuenca. Today they each have a prestigious brand name, and all have carved out a reputation for themselves that goes beyond any consideration of where they might come from – and they nearly always have the prices to go with it.

But each of them has undoubtedly contributed to the more relaxed legislation that has taken shape in recent years. The local authorities, very much the experts when it comes to agricultural matters, came up with the idea of creating an umbrella label “Vino de la Tierra de Castilla”, similar to the French “vin de pays”, which has ended up becoming a home for those working to produce quality modern wines in the face of the somewhat discredited image of the D.O. La Mancha.

Today in La Mancha you can find quality red wines at reasonable prices that, on occasions, may opt for the support of the D.O., but mostly tend to go with the less repressive option of becoming a Vino de la Tierra. Most surprising of all is the fact that the majority of firms who having such great success are barely four years old (as you can see for yourself is you look at the dates in brackets in the guide to La Mancha wineries at the end of this article).

New wine producing techniques, the low price of grapes and their bountiful supply have attracted all the major Spanish firms to the region, keen in most cases to create new labels aimed at competing in the export market with reasonable prices or at approaching with high quality products those market segments not yet filled by the wines from the D.O. – González Byass, Faustino, Bodegas & Bebidas, Martínez Bujanda, Alejandro Fernández or Arzuaga are just a few of the companies who all come to La Mancha. But some local cooperatives have also been completely revamped, local investors are getting firmly behind high quality wines and several wine-growers are now producing wines of their own.

So, what about the wine?
The best young Tempranillos are fresh and intense, with a strong personality of ripe dark fruits (blackberries and blueberries), and are very pleasant to drink.

In the value-for-money range, the best picks are reds that have spent a short time in barrel, only six months, which prove to be fruity, meaty and well-balanced, and filled with all the sunny character of the region. These wines are fruity and sweet and are very easy to drink.

Those wines that spend longer in barrel tend to show greater harmony between fruit and wood, without losing any of their varietal character. They maintain all the sweet, meaty personality of the grapes and the climate.

A good red wine from this “Spanish Australia” won’t disappoint British wine lovers who are accustomed to the wines with which their English-speaking cousins from the other side of the world have flooded the supermarket aisles.

The “traditional” wineries
We call them “traditional” to distinguish them from those wineries of more recent creation, although in many cases they are not particularly old themselves.

-Bodegas Campos Reales (1950). A cooperative that has joined the move towards producing quality wines with some good-value, consistent and very drinkable products. (D.O. La Mancha).

-Bodegas Centro Españolas (1991). One of the first firms to make a name for itself in the move towards quality during the nineties. Its most famous label is Allozo. (D.O. La Mancha).

-Casa de la Viña (1857). An enormous estate owned by the giant Bodegas & Bebidas, today part of the Domecq group. Recently left the D.O. (V.T. Castilla).

-Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza S. Coop. (1958). Another cooperative doing good work at nice prices. Its label is Casa Gualda. (D.O. La Mancha)

-Vinícola de Castilla (1976). The large, privately-owned local firm whose range of wines is so vast that it even confuses the experts. We have opted for its young red Castillo de Alhambra and its more complex Señorío de Guadianeja Tempranillo Gran Reserva. (D.O. La Mancha).

The modern wineries
-Bodegas Fontana (1997). This winery has become the undisputed reference in the region, capable of producing both good value reds and wines of more lofty ambition (with prices to match) like its recent, critically-acclaimed Dueto. (D.O. La Mancha / V.T. Castilla).

-Bodegas del Muni (2001). One of our favourites, this is a real find: limited-output, carefully-crafted wines at particularly interesting prices. (V.T. Castilla).

-Bodegas y Viñedos Barreda (1945). Underwent a total overhaul just a few years ago and is now producing decent, easy-drinking reds at good prices. (V.T. Castilla)

-El Vínculo (1999). This experiment in La Mancha by Alejandro Fernández (Pesquera) is an attempt to discover yet another way of looking at his beloved Tempranillo grape. Prices are in line with the prestige of the winemaker, but still not excessive. (D.O. La Mancha)

-Finca Antigua (2003). A winery with some spectacular buildings, owned by the Martínez Bujanda family from La Rioja. The first wines they have released onto the market are very promising. (D.O. La Mancha)

-Freewine (2002). An interesting adventure in La Mancha for a trio who are producing wines all over Spain: Jorge Ordóñez, the importer of Spanish wines into the USA; wine writer Víctor Rodríguez; and winemaker Javier Alén de Viña Meín. (D.O. Mancha)

-Más que Vinos (1999). A winery run by a team of wine consultants and flying wine-makers. Excellently-produced wines at good prices, plus a rare, limited-output red called La Plazuela. (V.T. Castilla)

-Montalvo Wilmot (2001). This winery, founded by a Spanish man and a French woman with a winery in Bordeaux, produce well-crafted wines based both on local varieties and on grapes from elsewhere. Good prices. (D.O. Mancha)

-Pago del Vicario (2000). A large project set up by local business people who are getting behind quality red wines, with some interesting mixes, varieties that are unusual in the region and well-crafted wines. One to watch. (V.T. Castilla)