Levante in the limelight

A hotspot for tourism and abundant Mediterranean produce, this warm stretch of coastline is best known for its beaches and its bounty – tomatoes, almonds, rice, olive oil, seafood to name a few. On the other hand, it is easy to overlook it as a serious wine region. Until recently, I admit, even I had largely written it off as no more than a source of perfectly good, but unremarkable, entry-level Spanish reds, with many examples lacking in freshness and balance often veering towards overripe, jammy styles with high alcohols and lots of oak.

I’m very excited to report that this perception no longer holds. A quiet revolution has been bubbling over the last 20 years, led by a handful of talented visionaries, who are steadily dismantling these stereotypes and reshaping the narrative. My recent trip in March this year proved to me not only that there is more to the region than having an English breakfast paired with a pint for breakfast in Benidorm, but that these lesser-known wine regions are capable of producing some of the best wines I have tasted in Spain (and I mean that!). The southern Levante is a captivatingly beautiful part of the country, framed by mountains, paddy fields, stunning coastlines, and mile upon mile of olive groves and almond orchards, which I was lucky to see in full blossom during my visit. I was not expecting such diversity of landscape, nor wine styles, but undoubtedly the biggest myth-busting revelation of my trip was the fact wines of the Levante are capable of finesse, bright aromatics, energy and elegance… there was not a jammy wine in sight.

'There is more to the region than having an English breakfast paired with a pint for breakfast in Benidorm… these lesser-known wine regions are capable of producing some of the best wines I have tasted in Spain (and I mean that!).'

A bit of historical and geographical context

The Levante refers to a 700km stretch of coastline between Cataluña and Andalucía, encompassing a handful of lesser-known DOs (designated origin) and various VTs (vino de la tierra – protected geographic indication) across Valencia, Murcia, bordering eastern Castilla-La Mancha. Winemaking here is far from new, in fact, Alicante has recently been identified as Europe’s oldest winemaking region, with over 3,000 years of history. Evidence suggests the Phoenicians, arriving from around modern-day Lebanon, were instrumental in turning Valencia and Murcia into major trading hubs. Expert sailors and merchants, they began establishing coastal settlements from around 800 BCE, laying the groundwork for trade networks that naturally included grapes and wine. Several centuries later, the Roman Empire expanded into the Iberian Peninsula, reinforcing and formalising these systems with infrastructure and routes that further embedded viticulture in the region.

Yet despite this deep heritage, this area has been largely forgotten in viticultural terms for much of the modern era, due in large part to socio-political factors, particularly the impact of Franco’s regime. While other wine regions evolved and flourished, the Levante was shaped by a stifling mass-market, bulk-wine system where growers were paid by quantity rather than quality, leaving little incentive for vineyard precision or careful winemaking. Old vines were abandoned, native varieties pushed to the brink of extinction, and younger generations left rural areas in search of better economic prospects. Compounding this, the rise of Parker-influenced preferences for powerful, heavily extracted reds further entrenched a homogenised style, reducing the region largely to a source of bulk wine produced to fit that mould.

What’s changed?

Then, slowly, a handful of visionary winemakers began to question the status quo. Each with their own story and sense of purpose, they started to work differently. International varieties were cast aside in favour of what was already there: old, abandoned bush vines of local and long-forgotten grapes; varieties which had been neglected as they were either low-yielding, difficult to work, or not deemed to produce enough colour. But these hardy, ancient local grapes were of course perfectly adapted to bear the intense heat of the region as they had done for centuries. As well as local grapes being rediscovered, today in the hands of these winemakers, cornerstone grapes such as monastrell and bobal – known for producing heavy, rustic wines or being used largely as workhorse varieties, are now yielding wines with increasing brightness and balance with some fine examples at the top end.

Back to the future

The visionaries are reclaiming many of the deserted high-altitude plots, once considered too difficult to farm, and applying modern, research-driven techniques for hot-climate viticulture. Their aim? To make wines of complexity and character that express their land. The trailblazers all work closely with nature, adapting pruning techniques in the vineyard, using gentler extraction and less oak in the cellar, and they almost always farm organically and without irrigation – each step contributing towards wines of greater finesse and precision. Despite the hot and arid climate coming with its own set of challenges, it does however make it very well-suited to organic viticulture, with very little risk of disease or rot, and today an increasing number of producers are now choosing to work this way. 

Who are the visionaries leading the charge?

My good friend Pepe Mendoza asserted himself as my trip curator and guide, connecting me to fellow innovators and creators, ensuring I lived and breathed the spirit of the region, including a life-changing paella pit-stop in the Restaurante Elias in Monovar, which if you happen to be passing by, I highly recommend you visit. Pepe is a force to be reckoned with, few able to match his energy and charisma. His very personal project lies principally in the cool coastal, ocean-influenced sub-region of Alicante, where he has, through years of research, been instrumental in moving away from the weighty and oaky styles surrounding him. His wines are centred on the grapes of monastrell and giró and he is hell-bent on expressing the land in its purest, most honest form, working with old bush vines, native yeasts and always very good humour. The results speak for themselves with beautiful, structured stylish monastrells and girós that burst with pure fruit, complexity and an unapologetically Mediterranean character.

Pepe ensured I spent time with as many of this generous network of talented growers as possible. Among them was Toni Sarrión of Bodegas Mustiguillo, one of the earliest and most important figures in Valencia’s transformation. A businessman turned winemaker, his belief in the bobal grape, alongside his work reviving white grape merseguera, led to the creation of the Vino de Pago (single estate) El Terrerazo in Utiel-Requena in 2010. Toni is relentless, now moving towards fully biodynamic farming, and his wines reflect that intent - pure, aromatic, and at the top end remarkably fine.

The rain in Spain… was greeted with joy by every producer!

At Celler del Roure in the high up Alforins valley of Valencia, I was greeted warmly by owner and winemaker Pablo Calatayud, and thanks to a sudden downpour, we were quickly ushered indoors and treated to a homemade rice stew cooked over the fire by Paco, his co-winemaker, using his grandmother’s recipe. When I say it rained, it poured, and I’m ashamed to admit I had rather hoped for some sunshine on this trip, after a rather miserable UK winter. But, after every producer I met marvelled at this biblical event, owing to the benefits it would bring to their vine’s water reserves, I quickly took stock. The most memorable and romantic part of this visit was Pablo’s 500-year-old cellar consisting of 97 underground clay amphoras, in which he now makes reds and whites using some of the lesser-known local grapes such as mandó, arcos and verdil. The tasting revealed just how light-footed, complex and elegant Valencian wines can be, with Pablo noting that in the past, lighter, paler grapes were used deliberately – ‘no one wants to drink highly alcoholic, heavily extracted reds in the summer heat do they?’.

Keepers of the clay

Another custodian of the amphora is relative newcomer, and all-round lovely man, David Carbonell of Toneles Centenarios who has recovered some enormous century old ‘tinajas’ in the in-land upper reaches of Alicante, Alto Vinalopo, in which he makes local, organic wines, including a delicious, clean, fragrant orange wine or ‘brisat’ as it’s referred to locally. His red ‘Anforas’ co-ferments monastrell with garnacha, bonicaire (same as trepat in Catalunya) and native arcos. His Fondillón story is an amazing tale that unravels following the discovery of a forgotten Fondillón cellar which housed 25 historic Fondillón barrels, completely untouched since the 1960s, stumbled upon by David and his friend Ferrero. Fondillón is an ancient, exclusively Alicante wine, made from monastrell that stylistically sits somewhere between a Banyuls, amontillado sherry and Tawny Port. I urge you to try this rarity if these kind of wines are your thing.

The formidable and fiercely driven Elena Pacheco of Viña Elena in Jumilla, the youngest of four sisters, has significantly transformed the family estate, founded in 1948, since taking the helm. I visited the vast winery, once centred on bulk production, which she has reshaped over the past decade towards bottling and championing her own wines with a quest for quality and elegance. A visit to one of her single-site vineyards from the Bruma range, in one of the hottest, most extreme corners of Jumilla, was fascinating: very old bush vines, so small they barely peeked out from the large white pebble stones, crucial for reflecting the heat, and a long, nerdy discussion on the role of hydric stress in such an arid climate. She joked that the vines were ‘small like me,’ but a more fitting comparison would be their strength and resilience.

These are just some of my highlights – and by no means the full cast of visionaries worth our attention – but I hope they’re enough to tempt you to explore the delights of this region for yourself. From bright, textured whites and juicy, spicy reds to aromatic orange wines and the historic richness of Fondillón, there really is something for everyone. And what ties it all together is the energy: a sense of youthful enthusiasm, innovation, and a confident blend of tradition and modern thinking. Winemakers are learning from their ancestors but are not bound by them. This region isn’t just evolving, it’s transforming and the wines are only ‘gonna get better…’!

>> Discover Harriet’s new discoveries from the Levante