Portal del Montsant Santbru Carnyenes Velles 2009
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Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
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Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
78% Carignan, 18% Grenache, 4% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Wouldn't you like a little Carignan in your life? The 2009 Portal del Montsant Santbru Carinyenes Velles is a superior expression of Carignan. With a little help from Grenache and Syrah, this is a mouthful of delicious red that makes the palate sing. Pair with grilled chicken or beef. Deep dark ruby color; super ripe aroma, alluring and attractive, deep; medium to full bodied, packed and impressive on the palate; ripe, red and black fruit flavors, fine; long finish, substantial in the aftertaste. Drinks pretty fine now and will continue to improve with a bit of bottle age. (Tasted: April 29, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Intense and graceful, this is lithe, with well-integrated tannins and fresh acidity supporting rich flavors of black cherry, licorice, mineral and garrigue. Polished, focused and fresh. Carinena, Garnacha, and Syrah.
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Wine & Spirits
A blend of old-vine carinena and garnacha with younger vine syrah, this aligns substantial dried-fruit flavors along a track of ironbound tannins,. The depth of flavor is impressive, as is its power, equipped to take on roast game.
Other Vintages
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Wine &
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Portal del Montsant was founded in 2003, after taking the reins on the old wine cooperative Marcá, and their legacy of over a century of winemaking. This increasingly popular Montsant winery stands out for its use of local grape varieties -Garnache and Cariñena- usually coming from over 60 years old vines.
The climate of the region (south of Barcelona) is typically mediterranean, with the vineyards such as Cornudella to the north, and at an elevation of 700-800 meters, enjoying some characteristics of a continental climate.
Small parcels of land, high quality crus, and a wide variety of soils (clay rich, chalky and sandy), make for an interesting selection of individual wines, rich in variety and personality, subtle, fragrant and complex.
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.