Winemaker Notes
Hugely aromatic nose (think violets) beckons the first sip, where the drinker will find a seamless and complex experience ranging from purple-tinged red fruits to nutmeg and cinnamon. Supremely balanced expression of the Garnacha variety that invites comparisons to the very best examples of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
No 2017 was produced, so after the 2016 I tasted a while ago, we jump to the 2018 La Dama, vinified by Enrique Basarte and Elisa Ucar and blended and bottled by Raul Perez, the new owner of the project. They always look for a more delicate expression of Garnacha from selected stonier plots of old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines in the village of San Martin de Unx that are worked organically and biodynamically but are not certified. The wine is stunning, elegant and aromatic, with depth, complexity and grip. It's incredibly young and expressive and doesn't show its age at all; it has a refined nose and is quite fruit-driven and floral, with very integrated oak (like never before), supple flavors and very fine tannins. It has good ripeness and contained alcohol and good freshness and acidity (with a pH of 3.46 and 6.3 grams of tartaric).
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Decanter
One of the most elegant and refined wines from northeastern Spain. From vineyards in San Martín de Unx, now owned by Raúl Pérez, on limestone soils. This is a blend of the five highest plots (up to 800m) which explain the wine’s impressive acidity. Beautiful violet notes and garrigue are enveloped in perfectly integrated oak. Will age effortlessly.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Just north of Spain’s famous Rioja region, Navarra excels in the production of full and fruit-dominant reds and good quality, dry rosés. Garnacha holds most of the land under vine, with Tempranillo coming in second place.