The Mediterranean tastes like wine | The truth

It all begins with a traditional winemaking process, a 2019 harvest with a combination of 92% Monastrell, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Syrah, which remains in oak barrels for 16 months, thanks to the collaboration with Viña Elena wineries. From there, the wines are sealed to prevent the cork from filtering salt water and immersed in a unique sanctuary on the Aquiline coast. At 33 meters deep, each bottle is enriched with the mysteries of the marine abyss, making the environmental conditions give it unique characteristics. After six months of maturation, with constant review by specialized professionals, the bottles return to the surface having uniquely captured the essence of the sea.

It is “the absence of light, the constant temperature, the movement of the tides, the microvibrations caused by the sound waves of the water that make the wine evolve differently,” as indicated by the CEO of Bodegas Undersea, Gregorio. Ayllón, who shares this project with his partners Mar Mateo and Juan Antonio Fernández. The result after underwater aging is a round wine that refines the nuances of Monastrell to produce a smooth sensation in the mouth and palate. “It's so nice that you like it and want more,” adds the CEO. But it's not all about flavor, since the bottles themselves are unique pieces in which you can observe the action of underwater life during your immersion time.

The Winery now begins its journey a few meters from the Cartagena coast, near the Port of Escombreras, which will allow it to go from 500 square meters of winery to 30,000, and a capacity for 5 or 6 million bottles. The objective is not only to mature whites, reds and rosés under the Sulibella brand, but also to “democratize the production of underwater wines so that any winery can have them within their references,” he says. The first production will be ready at the end of the year.

The launch of this new stage took place last Saturday at Espacio Alviento, in a tasting experience organized by the company together with the newspaper LA VERDAD. Thus, with views of the Mediterranean, the meeting between “the God Bacchus and Neptune”, as defined by the moderator of the event, the gastronomic journalist Pachi Larrosa, allowed this pioneering initiative in the Region of Murcia to reach the palates of the attendees, representatives of wineries from inside and outside the Region and restaurants, as well as sommeliers and winemakers and authorities from the area.

Guided by sommeliers Alexandre Aubín and Andrés Vivancos, the tasting allowed us to first enjoy a white wine, which they called De Brisa, a 100% Chardonnay from La Mancha that impresses the eye with its golden color. This young wine, which was accompanied with salted fish, is characterized by its low acidity, since its underwater stay for three months has made the components fit together perfectly. Its graduation is 12.5º. “It is a wine that drinks very well, that is fresh and pleasant,” commented Sergio González; a sensation shared by Juan Diego Fernández, who in addition to highlighting its flavor, stressed that it is “a very spring-like wine, appropriate for this season”, predicting that it is a proposal “with a lot of future.”

The sea softens these references, and attendees were also able to see it in the SuliBella, whose alcohol content (14.5%, two more than the white) is barely noticeable in the mouth. Its ruby ​​red color and its aromas of scrubland and spices anticipate a wine that in gastronomic terms would be defined as 'a good sea and mountain'. “It achieves softness without losing the body of the Monastrell grape, because you can tell that the grape is Jumillan,” indicated Álvaro López, winemaker at Bodegas Madrid Romero, who highlighted the “good sensations” of both references. “Knowing the wines of Jumilla and Monastrell is a way to round out the wine and give some very interesting nuances,” said José Miguel Cegarra, CEO of Montiel, who underlined the innovative nature of the proposal and its ability to unite the sea with Jumilla wines.

“When you try them you realize how they evolve in the mouth and the roundness that immersion in water gives is very recognizable,” said Lourdes Jiménez of Orenes Grupo, who described the tasting as “an experience out of 10 and some surprising and “recommendable.” «It is a very innovative experience that adds value to the destination to make it more attractive. It is one more incentive for Cartagena,” added Elena Ramos from the El Batel Auditorium and Congress Palace.

Innovation and sustainability

The idea of ​​creating these wines began 12 years ago on the beaches of Mazarrón and Águilas, where their creators placed ecological anchorages and artificial reefs in their jobs as professional divers in order to generate biodiversity on the seabed. “We saw that it could be ideal to combine the regeneration of degraded spaces with underwater wines,” he recalls. Thus, they were doing tests, trying varieties and different depths until they were able to get the perfect broth.

The first intention was sustainability as lovers of the sea. For this reason, on the perimeter of the winery they have created an artificial reef for marine species and filter feeders to colonize, cleaning the surrounding waters. “The main thing to generate life is to give it a structure, also acting as a barrier against pollution, because these filters improve the quality of the water and biodiversity,” says Gregorio Ayllón.

tourist focus

The launch of SuliBella, which pays tribute “to the one who will always bring you afloat from the depths of silence and darkness”, is completed with the 'UnderseaExperiences', a tourist option that offers both tastings in AlViento aimed at cruise passengers – which have started this week -, such as trips on a boat to go to the winery and see the work of the divers, including a tasting in the middle of the sea.

“It's not that we are pioneers in this, but we are constantly researching to release a product that we have managed to have very good acceptance,” concludes Ayllón. The wines can be obtained through their website www.bodegasundersea.es