Wine Tasting – 9th October 2025

The panic was almost overwhelming when I looked at the wine rack and saw a lone bottle of red and just knew, the fridge for the white and rosado was similarly bare.

The last wine tasting seemed a long time ago – it was a long time ago – and the next was a week away. So off to the supermarket I went, feeling somewhat guilty that I wasn’t supporting our wine tasting bodegas. But needs must.

Just enough was purchased to see us through to the first tasting of the new season.

What a welcome sight was the delightful Marta and her colleague, Angel, from Bodegas Bleda in Jumilla, when they stood before the U3A Moraira-Teulada Wine tasters gathered together on Thursday, 9th October.

Five wines were on offer to the 63 tasters who met in the Hill Top Bar – three reds and a single white and rosado. The balance of wines, a clear sign summer is over and autumn is upon us. All were being offered at special prices for the night.

First up was the blanco, an organic blend of Airen – the most cultivated white grape in Spain – and Sauvignon  Blanc. Pale yellow in colour with intense green highlights, this wine is refreshing and a perfect pairing for salads and white fish, Marta assured us.

The rosado, also organic, is dry, fresh, salmon pink in colour and 100% Monastrell. With intense aromas of raspberries  and strawberry,  this medium bodied wine would go well with fish, white meat, pasta or paella. 

The first red, the Pino Doncel Vintage, a blend of Monastrell,  Syrah  and Merlot, is an intense cherry red, with aromas of red fruit. Very tasty and with hints of spice and liquorice. 

The Pino Doncel Black, a blend of Monastrell,  Syrah  and Petit Verdot aged in oak for five months, is a favourite of many. An intense colour with an aroma of mature red fruits, it is an elegant  soft spicy wine with just a hint of the oak it mellowed in.

The final red, the Castillo de Jumilla Crianza vintage 2021, is a blend of Monastrell and Tempranillo. Cherry red with intense aromas of red and black berries and balsamic notes, it pairs beautifully with red meats, stews and cheeses.

Judging by the rush to buy, and substantial card payments made by many, they too had run short and made Marta’s 350 km return journey both worthwhile and profitable. 

Our thanks, as always, go to Pat and Brian Clarke for organising the tastings and to the Hill Top bar for the selection of cheeses, meats and bread provided to accompany the wine.

In just under five weeks the next tasting will give people a chance to stock up for Christmas while looking forward to the annual tasters’ Christmas lunch which we were told will be held on 4th December at the Olive Tree restaurant in Moraira. Further details of this will follow soon.

Our grateful thanks go to Ian Graham for another excellent write-up and to Gary Mantle & Dina Jones for the photos.