Winemaker Notes
A unique wine made for open minded palates. Sophisticated and structured with extraordinary richness and flavour, subtle, balanced and extremely elegant.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A savory hint of grilled meat and mesquite smoke on the nose transitions to underscore flavors of ripe black and red currant, dried mint and thyme on the palate of this powerful red. Rich and full-throttle, but not overly weighty, animated by lively acidity and a touch of iron-laced minerality. Ends with a firm, well-spiced finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell.
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Vinous
The 2022 El Nido is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Monastrell (organic). Solar in character, it offers spice, oak, roasted pepper, Mediterranean herbs and black fruit. Indulgent with a firm but contained structure, the palate shows grip and a faint chalky texture. Bold and flavorful, El Nido stands with one foot in the Spain of the 2000s and the other in a more contemporary frame.
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Wine Spectator
A savory hint of grilled meat and mesquite smoke on the nose transitions to underscore flavors of ripe black and red currant, dried mint and thyme on the palate of this powerful red. Rich and full-throttle, but not overly weighty, animated by lively acidity and a touch of iron-laced minerality. Ends with a firm, well-spiced finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell. Best from 2027 through 2040. 385 cases made, 150 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 El Nido was produced with a blend of 70% Monastrell from 32 hectares of vines with an average age of 76 years of age and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from 12 hectares planted in 1986. It fermented in small stainless steel tanks with neutral yeasts and matured in new French and American oak barrels for 23 months. It's spicy and smoky, with creaminess, ripe berry fruit and a full-bodied palate with abundant, slightly grainy tannins. It has 15% alcohol, a pH of 3.62 and six grams of acidity with three grams of residual sugar.
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.