Juan Antonio Ponce is one of Spain’s leading experts in biodynamic and natural winemaking. After cutting his teeth with Rioja’s winemaking maverick Telmo Rodriguez, Juan Antonio spent time in France learning about biodynamics and how best to apply those techniques to vineyards in Spain.

Juan Antonio’s wines have now become emblematic of a new philosophy in Spanish wine: biodynamically and organically farmed, focused on the representation of terroir, and heavily influenced by the natural wine movement in France. His own vineyards are based in Jumilla, Manchuela in southeast Spain. At nearly 1000m above sea level, they are some of the highest vines in the region. Here, the native red variety Bobal reigns supreme. His vines are between 30 and 90 years old, and some of them are still planted on their own rootstocks (a rarity in Europe today). These are expressive, naturally made wines that have elevated Manchuela, and Bobal, to long-deserved acclaim.