Winemaker Notes
A dense, dark red and intense bouquet of dark fruits with hints of black berries and a smoky tinge. The wine is full bodied with concentrated fruit flavors that border on juicy sweetness yet with enough tannin and acidity to balance. Enjoy with very full flavored dishes, especially those cooked over a fire.
From 28 year old vineyards - Monastrell, Garnacha Tintorera & Cabernet Sauvignon.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Mira is 65% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Garnacha Tintorera aged in 60-70% new French oak. Deep crimson-colored, the wine has an excellent bouquet of pain grille, mineral/creosote, black cherry, and blueberry. This leads to a smooth-textured, focused, elegant effort with ample spicy fruit, very good depth and breadth, and a long, pure finish. It can be enjoyed now and over the next 6-8 years.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
Highly regarded for distinctive and age-worthy red wines, Rioja is Spain’s most celebrated wine region. Made up of three different sub-regions of varying elevation: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. Wines are typically a blend of fruit from all three, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta, at the highest elevation, is considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier Rioja Oriental produce wines with deep color and higher alcohol, which can add great body and richness to a blend.
Fresh and fruity Rioja wines labeled, Joven, (meaning young) see minimal aging before release, but more serious Rioja wines undergo multiple years in oak. Crianza and Reserva styles are aged for one year in oak, and Gran Reserva at least two, but in practice this maturation period is often quite a bit longer—up to about fifteen years.
Tempranillo provides the backbone of Rioja red wines, adding complex notes of red and black fruit, leather, toast and tobacco, while Garnacha supplies body. In smaller percentages, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) often serve as “seasoning” with additional flavors and aromas. These same varieties are responsible for flavorful dry rosés.
White wines, typically balancing freshness with complexity, are made mostly from crisp, fresh Viura. Some whites are blends of Viura with aromatic Malvasia, and then barrel fermented and aged to make a more ample, richer style of white.