Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the older vintages they are selling as a library release is the 2013 Merenzao, a wine that is now called Risco Mernzao. To me, this is one of the benchmark bottlings for the grape—called Merenzao and Bastardo in Spain and Portugal, though it is the same as Trousseau—in Spain, together with the bottling from Quinta da Muradella. This was produced in a more earthy and rustic style, closer to the wines from Lucien Aviet in Jura than the Bastarda from Fedellos do Couto in Ribeira Sacra. Since I tasted it some four years ago, it has developed more tertiary aromas, turning earthier and more reminiscent of an aged Trousseau, with notes of forest floor, smoked paprika and rusty nails. The palate has fine-grained tannins and is nicely textured, talking about the stony soils more than the grape. It's tasty and long—it has aged well. This is now ready for prime-time drinking.
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.