Mas de l'Abundancia 2005
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Robert
Parker
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The majority of the estate is devoted to the Garnacha grape variety that del Rio's family has grown for generations. A self-trained viticulturalist, he planted over 7,000 Garnacha and 6,000 Cabernet Sauvignon vines himself, fueled by his belief that these varieties would express the true terroir of his land.
He bottled his first flagship wine, named for the winery "Mas de l'Abundancia," in 2002. Made from Garnacha and Cariñena, this wine symbolizes the fusion of an ancient land with innovative enology and artistic winemaking. This is the first time these wines have been imported into the United States.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The garnet–colored 2005 Mas de l’Abundancia is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Carinena, and 2% Garnacha Negra aged for 13 months in 40% new French oak. It offers up a bouquet of wood smoke, pencil lead, violets, roses, spice box, black cherry, and cassis. Full-bodied on the palate with a smooth texture, it has good depth, complex flavors, 4-6 years of cellaring potential, and a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. It should be at its best from 2014 to 2025.
The vines that make up the Fluminis wine are located at the Mas de l’Abundància property in the hillside town of Mas Roig. It currently contains 4.5 hectares of vines consisting of low-production Cabernet Sauvignon, Carineña, and two select clones of pre-phylloxera Garnacha: Garnacha Prioratina and Garnacha Pais. The soils are very fertile with excellent drainage; 40% of the fruit is generally dropped each year to ensure the best quality of each of the three grape varieties.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.