The six wines selected this month cover the length and breadth of the country: From Catalunya in the north-east, we have two wines: a single varietal white made from Pansa Blanca from the northerly Alella DO, which brilliantly marries stone fruits with limey citrus and a touch of lifted floral notes. From slightly further south near Penedes, we have a fabulous, truly original blend ‘Ikigall’ which marries Xarel-lo with Muscat and Malvasia and the result is lovely wine that blends floral notes of orange blossom with herbaceous fennel and mandarin fruit and a hint of salinity on the finish. Rounding out the whites we head north-west to Rueda in Castilla y León where the white grape Verdejo is king. Spain’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc – crisp, fresh and very appealing, with zesty citrus notes combining with orchard fruits and green herbs.

For the reds – we run the gamut of styles – in the hot south-east towards Alicante is Jumilla and Yecla where Monastrell is the star. I am a big fan of this grape and the hot climate here allows the tannins to ripen perfectly, producing an easy drinking wine with lifted florals, ripe blackberry, black cherry and plum, sweet liquorice and smoky and sweet spice. Mark my words this is one of Spain’s best value organic red wines!

Moving much further north-west into Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, we have a bright and juicy Mencia. This is unoaked and has a lovely blend of raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit with savoury pepper spice. Finally, moving south-east we arrive at Cigales in the Castilla y León. This full bodied Crianza made from Tinta del País (a thicker skinned clone of Tempranillo) is aged in oak barrels for 14 months and the result is a lovely blend of smoky and sweet spices, aromatic red berry and dark cherry fruit enveloped by silky, ripe tannins.