Winemaker Notes
"This is the second vintage of this 93% Syrah and 7% Mourvedre blend made by the well-known Spanish journalist and bon vivant, Victor de la Serna. Given the fact that la Serna is a highly respected wine taster and writer, one would expect impeccable attention to detail. The 2001 debut vintage was a revelation for a wine from such young vines, and the 2002 builds impressively on that release. There are 500 cases for the USA market."
-Wine Advocate
91% Syrah 9% Mourvedre (Monastrell). Estate bottled. Unfiltered. The vineyards of Finca Sandoval are located in the Casa Blanca area, roughly equidistant from five winemaking villages: Ledaña, Iniesta, Villarta, Villamalea, and El Herrumblar in Manchuela, in the Cuenca province, about 140 miles southeast of Madrid. They are located on a plateau of 2,250 ft. in elevation. The vines are planted in a high density for such an arid climate.
Professional Ratings
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.