Why it matters
The producer
Three brothers started growing organic grapes in Las Mesas, a village on the Cuenca plateau in eastern Castilla-La Mancha, in 1993, at a moment when Spain trailed the rest of Western Europe in ecological farming and most La Mancha producers were selling bulk wine to cooperatives or bottling anonymously. Francisco, Javier, and Luis Parra chose certification instead.
Fifteen years later, in 2008, they converted the entire operation to Demeter-certified biodynamic agriculture. The estate is now cited as the largest NOP-certified organic vineyard in Europe, a claim that comes from the importers who work with the family rather than from an independent industry body, but the scale and consistency of the commitment across three decades makes the positioning credible.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Castilla-La Mancha is the vast central plateau of Spain, a landscape of flat horizons, continental heat, and thin topsoil that produces more wine by volume than almost any other region in the world. La Mancha is also a DO, a Denominacion de Origen, covering much of that plateau and best known for high-yield, low-price production.
The Parra estate sits in Cuenca province, in the eastern portion of the plateau where the land rises. At 900 metres, the altitude introduces cold nights that slow ripening through summer and preserve natural acidity in the grapes. Monastrell, a grape built for heat, carries noticeably more freshness here than the same variety grown at lower elevations to the south and east.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The Susurro parcels sit at approximately 900 metres, selected for altitude rather than for any single named vineyard block. At that elevation, the diurnal temperature range widens in summer, so grapes ripen more slowly than on the lower plateau and retain more natural acidity at harvest. Monastrell, which loses its freshness quickly in heat, holds onto its violet and berry character through a longer growing season.
Pablo Parra's approach in the cellar is minimal intervention: small quantities, no heavy additives, and winemaking that preserves what the altitude and the biodynamic farming put into the grapes. Specific ageing vessels and élevage durations for the Susurro wines are not publicly detailed, but the wines' aromatic clarity and light body point to temperature-controlled fermentation and early bottling rather than extended barrel ageing.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Susurro range is the public-facing label for the natural wine program. Confirmed bottles include Monastrell, a Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo blend, and Tempranillo, all produced in small quantities from the high-altitude parcels.
Susurro Monastrell 2024 is a single-variety red from Monastrell grown at around 900 metres. Light to medium body, bright acidity, and an aromatic profile of wild raspberry, violet, dark cherry, fresh herbs, and blackcurrant. The fruit is vivid rather than dense, and the wine carries the freshness that altitude extracts from a grape more commonly associated with concentration and weight.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Susurro Monastrell 2024 is the right first bottle. Monastrell is the grape that most clearly shows what altitude and biodynamic farming do at Parra Jimenez. Grown at 900 metres instead of on the lowland plateau, it gives wild raspberry and violet rather than dense plum, bright acidity rather than hot alcoholic weight, and a body that lets the aromatics read clearly from the first pour. The wine is light enough to open easily and specific enough to be interesting: a Monastrell that does not behave like most Monastrell. Open it alongside something simple from the kitchen and it will hold its own across a full meal.