Jacques Dufort, an Opimian member since 1997, visited Spain last year and had the opportunity to visit the Familia Bastida vineyard. Read his story and taste the wines Jacques tried during his trip.
During our recent trip to Spain in October 2019, after realizing that we would be about an hour’s drive from one of Opimian’s suppliers, the Familia Bastida vineyard, we queried them about the opportunity to pay them a visit. Even if it is not customary for this vineyard to offer tastings to the public, they kindly agreed to welcome us. And what a reception we received!
When we arrived, Anna, a joyful employee, came to meet us. She was most enthusiastic about showing us around the property, towards which she, from the get-go, was displaying great pride towards.
This is how, throughout the visit of the cellar and the facilities, she made us discover the rich history of the property which can be summed up as follows.
In 1870, the first winery dedicated exclusively to buying and exporting bulk wines to France, which at that time was in short supply due to the plague of Phylloxera, was established. The “Pedro Luis Martinez, S.A” winery, the first commercial winery in Jumilla (Murcia), was therefore born 150 years ago. However, it was not until 1998 that the company’s shareholders decided to bottle their own wines under the Alceño brand.
In parallel, La Bodegas Familia Bastida was only founded in 1950 by Antonio Bastida. It has grown, expanded and improved over the years and now has the latest technology. In this context of development, they acquired the company “Pedro Luis Martinez, S.A” and Alceño wines in 2010. The company remains a family business, proud of its 150 years of history.
Onward to the tasting, Anna introduced us to four wines of our choice, two of which were available through Opimian:
> A Biftu 2017 from the Requena region (C279, lot 1536). In the current Offering, lot 2057.
> A Vuela 2017 from the Ribera Del Duero region (C270, lot 1537). In the current Offering, lot 2058.
All in all, we made some great discoveries. Anna’s beautiful personality, warm welcome and good command of English made our experience most memorable. A big thank you to Anna and the owner of the vineyard for the generosity which they were able to display towards us.