Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Syrah, 15% GarnachaBlend: 85% Syrah, 15% Garnacha
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Sotorrondero in a blend of 75% Garnacha from younger vines, though still 40-50 years old, and 25% Syrah from 12-year-old vines. The fermentation takes place in steel with malolactic in 300 or 500-liter barrels. It has a fresh, lifted bouquet of dark cherry, crushed strawberry and dark chocolate that is well defined and focused. The palate has a dash of white pepper on the entry as well as layers of chocolate-tinged dark berry fruit with a keen thread of acidity, although it finishes just a little abruptly. Nevertheless, this is a highly satisfying, full-bodied wine.
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.