Its streets, its squares, its fields smell of culture and wine tradition in the 9 municipalities that make up the DO Bullas. Findings of historical pieces such as Iberian and Greek imported vessels testify to the cultivation of grapes more than 2,500 years ago.
The offices of DOP Bullas, located in an 18th century house-cellar in the centre of the village of Bullas, where, according to tradition, the family lived and produced their own wine in the most traditional style, take us back centuries.
At that time, Monastrell – the area’s native variety – was already being cultivated in the most traditional way and has evolved to the present day, with the modernization of production systems to achieve wines of the highest quality and techniques that today allow 85% of the DO’s vineyards to be organic.
The climatic and soil conditions distinguish, according to Inmaculada Fernández, head of communication of the DO Bullas, the territory of the DO Bullas, with a Monastrell that occupies 80% of the vineyards of the DO and that grows in soils poor in organic matter; limestone, Pardo calcareous and alluvial in the valley bottoms.
“The climate of the Bullas PDO is Mediterranean; with some areas where it has continental characteristics, with a cooling at night, considerable altitude that favors it, proximity to wooded areas and a temperature range of up to 20 degrees between day and night. These conditions allow the Monastrell grape to ripen quietly, producing wines that stand out for their delicacy and freshness“, explains Inmaculada.
A unique territory, which surprises for the beauty of its landscapes, the study and enhancement of the history of wine, which can be seen in the Wine Museum of Bullas, which facilities are part of an old winery and its interior presents curiosities of the area such as the jars buried in the ground. According to the director of the Museum, Salvador Martínez, “they are representative of the area because they maintain the Roman tradition up to the present day and have been used as a technique to keep the temperature of the wine constant”.
Careful farming tools and traditional machinery, among which the wooden and esparto grass presses – very characteristic of the area – are particularly interesting and demonstrate the importance of the sector and cultivation in the Bullas DO and invite us to continue learning and enjoying the Monastrell.
The Bullas PDO is Monastrell in every sense of the word, as demonstrated by the history and wine culture of the area; a Monastrell of altitude, of traditional cultivation and of great landscape value, as it is configured as a mosaic between mountains. A whole series of factors that offer the Monastrell grape optimum conditions for its development and the balance for perfect maturity and expression in its wines with the Bullas Protected Designation of Origin.
