Varieties Mustiguillo
Tierra del Terrerazo is the cradle of quality Bobal. It's a humble-looking variety: its berries are much larger than one can expect for wine grapes. Its bunches are big and compact. It is very tannic and gives a lot of structure and colour to the wines, and more important still, a lot of acidity (which is needed in such a hot environment). What is more, Bobal can age in wood very well. But it needs careful attention in the vine. Mustiguillo has 85 hectares under vine, of which 70% is Bobal. There is also Grenache, Tempranillo and a bit of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. For its top wines, Toni uses his 90 year-old Bobal vines. Most of his vines are trained in goblet. The region is very dry, so his principle is to adapt the yield to the leaf surface (one kilogram of grapes per square metre). The whole vineyard is farmed organically (with CAE certification since 2009). Toni’s success drew the attention of others and many now, in the Levante, following his example, believe in Bobal. Since 2008, Toni has also been trying to rehabilitate Merseguera, a local white grape from the Valencia area that had not yet proven its worth. But here, the results are impressive, in the Mestizaje Blanco as well as in the Finca Calvestra. Not all the harvest is used for vinification at the estate’s cellar. Only the best grapes from the best blocks of vines (not always the same, depending on the vintage) are vinified, the rest of the grapes (mainly from younger vines) being sold to other wine producers in the region.