Elías López Montero is the most celebrated winemaker in Castilla-La Mancha. He’s seemingly single-handedly bringing the world’s largest wine region to new consumers, and changing its downbeat, bulk-wine image in the process. We talked about old vines, the widely planted but underrated Airén grape, tinajas, (as clay pots are known locally), and, with climate change in mind, what Elías is planting for the future.

To read more about Elías’ wines, look at the Verum website. You can also follow him on Instagram @eliaslopezmontero.

Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as on my website. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.