Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Deep purple in color, with minty, exotic aromas that suggest latex but also richness, vanilla, mocha and spice. The palate is meaty and deep, with smooth-flowing flavors of blackberry, licorice, chocolate and pepper. Young, rich and balanced; hold for two years then drink. 76% Syrah with Monastrell and Bobal.
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Wine Spectator
Hints of chocolate, espresso and pencil shavings accent this creamy red, featuring layers of ripe black cherry and boysenberry fruit, with aromatic underbrush and olive notes, supple tannins and juicy acidity. Syrah, Monastrell and Bobal.
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.