Panarroz    

Jumilla

The south of Spain has one of the hottest climates in which vines can produce good wine. The secret is altitude. Spain is far more mountainous than most people realize. High altitude vineyards in the south are hot in the day, cool to cold at night. This allows for slow ripening, a necessity for fine wine. Harvest in Jumilla rarely starts before October, a month later than in France’s Mediterranean vineyards, well to the north.

A clutch of southern Spanish Denominaciones are starting to make wines that merit the world’s attention. Bullas, Yecla and Alicante have all advanced, but the greatest progress has been in Jumilla.

Panarroz

Panarroz is a brand created by Hand Picked Selections. The wines are bottled for us at Bodegas Olivares, one of the leading wineries not just of Jumilla but of Spain. On my first visit to the Bodega to inspect the facility, I was welcomed by Francisco Selva Poveda (Paco), the general manager. Over the course of the day, I met about a dozen people working in this large, impressive, meticulously run and incredibly clean facility. From office to cellar rats, to winemakers, a common thread of intelligent industry and courtesy runs through the entire operation.

There are 800 acres of vines whose production is immediately available for Panarroz, and grapes and wine can also be bought in bulk. Most of the acreage is Monastrell. Jumilla is the original home of this varietal. DNA testing has confirmed that it is the same varietal as France’s Mourvedre (and California’s Mataro). Garnacha is the second varietal here, followed by Tempranillo, Syrah and the inevitable Merlot and Cabernet. Our goal is Mediterranean typicity. Monastrell is always likely to be the biggest contributor to our blend, with Garnacha, Syrah and maybe Tempranillo. However I have tasted some pretty fair Merlot and surpris-ingly good Cabernet from here and will not rule them out as part of the blend in the future.

Panarroz – Production

The first vintage was 2003, a blend of 22,000 cases. 15,000 were sold in the U.S., 7,000 in Europe and they sold quickly. The 2004 blend is 60,000 cases. We wanted more, but although the 2004 vintage proved to be excellent, it was difficult for several reasons.

The 2003 blend was 1/3 each Garnacha, Shyra and Monastrell (or as we are used to saying, Grenache, Syrah & Mourvedre). This seems like a good basis for the long term, with Mourvedre always the star here.

However in 2004 the Syrah and Grenache vineyards, at lower elevation than Mourvedre, got wailed by hail. Instead of three 13,000 gallon tanks each of Syrah and Grenache, there was one 13,000 gallon tank, a 50/50 blend of these two varietals, and that was it! I sought both varietals on the bulk market, but other growers were also affected by the hail and good Syrah in particular was hard to find. The search was exacerbated by a very late harvest. In ’03 the harvest finished on October 10th, a week earlier than normal. In ’04, the final picking date was November 15th, the latest on record.

There was some good Tempranillo available, but in ’04 it simply did not fit into the style we have established for Panarroz. The final blend in ’04 is 48% Monastrell, 32% Grenache and 20% Syrah. Grenache provides the wine with breadth and alcohol; Syrah provides color and aromatics while the Monastrell offers ramrod-straight aristocratic backbone. Alcohol, acid, pH… all of the numbers of the ’04 are virtually identical to those for the ’03, but on the palate the wine is firmer… and finer.

Bottling capacity for Panarroz is a million cases. I don’t think we will see that level any time soon, but I am happy to know that the potential is there. There are a lot of vineyards in Jumilla; not all are planted in good terroir or to the right grapes, but improvements over the past decade have been both rapid and stunning. 100,000 cases in the near future seems feasible, and after that... ?

Panarroz – ‘Llex Obradan’

This fall will see the release of a small quantity of an upscale, oaked Panarroz. The name is ‘Llex Obradan’. We will start slowly in every sense. The quantity will be small. The oak treatment will be modest and the price correspondingly sensible. Specifically, there will be 500 cases of wine, aged 6 - 8 months in American oak barrels. Retail should be about $15. Depending on market reaction and vintage quality, in the future we may increase production, age in newer barrels and/or for a longer period, incorporate some French oak and (if quality and expense warrant) raise the price.