Winemaker Notes
Alto Moncayo Veraton offers attractive collection of balsamic notes, as well as notes of chocolate and black fruits. It is very warm in the mouth and has an extremely pleasant finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Much brighter and fresher than the other garnachas from this producer with herbal, orange peel and delicate berry notes. The tannins are fresh and almost crisp, easily balancing the full body. Long dry finish of some complexity.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive flavors of cherry, raspberry and dark chocolate mingle in this polished red, balanced by notes of licorice and wild herbs. The tannins are well-integrated, and balsamic acidity keeps this balanced. Dense and harmonious, in the modern style. Drink now through 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Most of the Moncayo wines tend to sell for higher prices, but the 2014 Alto Moncayo Veraton is their least expensive cuvée, overseen by famous Barossa Australian winemaker Chris Ringland. Made from 100% Grenache, it was aged in 60% new French oak and 40% American oak barrels for 16 months prior to bottling without filtration. This is a 1,500-case cuvée that is pedal-to-the-metal material, as one might expect from Ringland. With an opaque ruby/purple color, beautiful blackberry, charcoal and oaky notes are followed by a modern-style wine with huge fruit, big body, sweet tannin and a long finish.
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.