"One of the most exciting new names in the Mediterranean"
[Luis Gutiérrez, WA]
Bandol has long been considered the most famous and historically significant region for Mourvèdre. But travel south along the coast to Spain's southeast edge and you'll find Jumilla, where siblings Carlos, Juanjo, and Lucía Cerdán of Bodega Cerrón are making some of the most compelling, old-vine Mourvèdre anywhere in the world.
Here, Mourvèdre is called Monastrell, and in the high summer heat these drought-stressed vines produce riper, more robust fruit, softer acidity, and more warmth on the palate than their French counterparts.
Unlike most producers in Jumilla however, Bodega Cerrón doesn't source from low-lying sites. Instead, they focus on vineyards stretching up to 1000m in elevation with calcareous, flinty soils, pulling Monastrell away from jammy warmth toward tension and minerality.
The Cerdán siblings launched their 'Stratum' project to recover historic, own-rooted vineyards and native varieties around Fuente Álamo. Their approach is heritage-driven and site-expressive, aiming to showcase pure Monastrell fruit and vibrant tension coaxed from high-elevation vineyards.
The Stratum Wines started to attract widespread acclaim in the 2021 vintage, when a mild summer, cool nights, and a long, slow ripening season offered perfect conditions for their style of fresh, elegant Monastrell. While all of their wines that year balanced energy and power with great precision, it's the Los Yesares that stands out from the rest.
'Los Yesares' comes from a collection of old, historic vineyards planted between 1940 and 1967, and at 940m above sea level, are among the highest elevation sites in Jumilla. These high altitudes, extreme slopes, and significant diurnal shifts allow Monastrell to develop its familiar, spice-kissed dark fruit while maintaining lively acidity, showcasing the variety in its purest, completely unadulterated form. We're not alone in heaping praise:
“The 2021 Los Yesares is truly spectacular, floral and fresh…the palate is clean, precise and focused, laser cut with purity of flavors…like a ballerina, light on their feet but with muscle and no fat” [WA, 95pts]
Stunning now, and with the bones to cellar for at least a decade, this is Monastrell in full, elegant stride.