From the vineyard to the cellar: the 2025 harvest at Viña Elena.Â
The 2025 growing season began with a mild, calm winter and moderate temperatures. The first rains in March arrived at just the right moment, soaking the soil and encouraging a balanced bud burst.
Spring remained cool, with cloudy days and good moisture reserves. The May rains were particularly beneficial, helping the vines grow vigorously and without stress.
Despite a few isolated hailstorms — such as the one on 10 May — our vineyards suffered no significant damage. Overall, it was a favourable year, allowing the vines to develop steadily and in balance.
July brought milder temperatures than in recent years, along with good diurnal range. Everything suggested a later harvest, perhaps in early September. But summer had other plans.
At the beginning of August, an intense heatwave settled in for more than two weeks, with temperatures above 40 °C for several consecutive days. This sudden rise accelerated ripening, and the grapes began to concentrate and lose weight — a clear sign we couldn’t wait any longer.
Faced with this, we made a quick and decisive choice: to bring the harvest forward to preserve freshness and balance. We started picking Monastrell grapes from Jumilla in the Estrecho de MarĂn valley on 20 August, and finished all plots by Friday, 29 August — the earliest Monastrell harvest ever recorded at Viña Elena winery, located in the heart of the Jumilla wine region.
The harvest itself unfolded calmly. The grapes arrived at the winery in excellent condition, showing full ripeness and good concentration. Total production remained similar to the previous year, with very low yields — around 2,000 kg/ha on average. Many of these grapes came from our organic vineyards in Spain, where careful viticulture ensures low yields and maximum quality.
In 2024, the vines ended the season exhausted, with thin canes and some plots near drying out. But thanks to the spring rains, this year they recovered their vigour and structure — allowing proper pruning and setting a hopeful tone for 2026, provided autumn and next spring remain favourable.
Today, with the wines resting in the cellar, we sense a clear expression of balance:
- Richer, darker fruit.
- A fuller body and deeper structure than the 2024 vintage.
- A character that mirrors both the intensity of summer and the calm of spring.
The 2025 vintage will be remembered as a year of swift and wise decisions, where dedication in the vineyard made all the difference. Once again, it reminds us that authentic wines are born in the vineyard — especially authentic Spanish red wines from Jumilla’s sun-soaked terroir.
Elena Pacheco, 3rd Generation & CEO, harvesting Parcela Mandiles. August 20th, 2025.