Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Aloja Negre is a blend of 40% Garnacha, 25% Carinena, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah from 10- to 80-year-old vines in the Falset Valley, aged for three months in American and French oak. The nose is fresh and lifted with dark cherry and plum fruit. It has impressive delineation with well-integrated, creamy French oak. The palate is medium-bodied with a supple, grainy entry, fine acidity and a core of pure blackberry and boysenberry fruit that expands in the mouth. It demonstrates good structure and grip on the finish. This is a well-crafted Montsant red and an outstanding value.
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.