THE 31ST JUMILLA WINE CHALLENGE GIVES GOLD MEDAL TO 12 WINES  FROM JUMILLA PDO  THE AWARDS ARE SHARED AMONG 9 WINERIES. CASA DE LA ERMITA, BODEGAS BSI AND BODEGAS BLEDA GET 2 AWARDS EACH

THE PROTECTION OF OLD VINEYARDS, THE UNIQUE HERITAGE OF THE JUMILLA APELLATION, IS THE SECTOR’S MAIN DEMAND AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING Jumilla, May 23, 2025. Tonight, the 12 gold medal wines of the new 31st Jumilla DOP Wine Challenge were announced in a ceremony that brought together 400 industry experts at the Salones Media Luna in Jumilla, with food journalist Estefanía García serving as master of ceremonies.

This was a very special edition, in which the competition rules have been simplified, the number of prizes reduced, and the jury has been renewed.

The new jury, composed of sommeliers, trainers, and communicators, awarded 12 prizes to the highest-scoring wines in each category, exceeding 90 points, and two Special Mentions, for Best Monastrell Wine and Best Organic Wine.

The Casa de La Ermita, BSI, and Bleda wineries received two awards, while the Special Mentions went to Infiltrado 2024 from Casa de la Ermita, for the best organic wine, and Marzas 2024 from Bodegas Delampa, for the best Monastrell wine of the Competition.

The remaining awards were shared among Bodega Carchelo, Dobledepérez Microbodega, which is making its debut as a winner in the Quality Competition with a white wine made in contact with skins, Bodegas San Dionisio, Bodegas García Carrión 1890, and Bodegas Alceño, which stood out among the more than 30 wines that demonstrated excellence in this competition, surpassing the 90-point barrier.

The gala was attended by the Regional Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of the Region of Murcia, Sara Rubira, and the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Julián Martínez Lizán, along with other authorities, including the Secretary General of the Regional Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of the Region of Murcia, Francisco Javier González Zapater, and the Provincial Delegate for Agriculture in Albacete, Ramón Sáez. Javier Maté Caballero, Deputy Director General of Food Quality Control and Agri-Food Laboratories, attended on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food of the Government of Spain and addressed the attendees.

The mayors of the Jumilla DOP municipalities of Hellín, Ontur, Albatana, and Montealegre del Castillo, and councilors from Tobarra, also attended the annual event, which was, of course, also attended by the mayor of Jumilla, the host city of the ceremony. This year’s wine tasters, Fran Saura, María José Garrido, Pedro Cutillas, Antonio Caravaca, Pascual Ibáñez, Pedro Piqueras, Álvaro de Miguel, and Antonio Chacón, also wanted to accompany the wineries at this ceremony, which was also accompanied by rain. This spring in the region is one of the wettest in recent years, finally offering a respite after three years of intense drought that had plagued the area.

A gala marked by the plea for help from Silvano García, president of the Regulatory Council of the Jumilla Designation of Origin (DOP), to the authorities in the face of the adversities facing the sector, for protection against environmental disasters such as drought or hail. He placed special emphasis on the urgency of preserving dryland vineyards, threatened for being less profitable than irrigated ones, but which are guardians of the land, its biodiversity, and its landscape.

“To maintain this vineyard, the best adapted to the land and sustainable, a barrier against desertification, we need the help of the authorities.”