Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Atteca was sourced from 80- to 120-year-old head pruned Garnacha vines and aged for 10 months in seasoned French oak. Deep purple-colored, it exhibits an impressive nose of crushed stone, black cherry, and plum. This is followed by a full-bodied wine with layers of savory fruit, spice notes, and silky tannin. This balanced effort will evolve for another 1-2 years and drink well through 2017.
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Wine Spectator
Toasted vanilla and smoke notes accent raspberry and black cherry fruit in this sleek red, which has enough tannins for grip. The fresh finish echoes with dark chocolate and spice. Drink now through 2011. 1,250 cases imported.
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.