Winemaker Notes
Enjoy with pasta, lamb, pizza or robust cheeses, like Munster, Stilton or Manchego.
Blend: 85% Garnacha, 15% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced from 85% Garnacha (70-year-old vines) and 15% Syrah (30-year-old vines) aged nine months in new and older American and French oak, it is another under-the-radar wine that dramatically over-delivers. A custom cuvee made for Eric Solomon, it exhibits notes of rose petals, raspberry jam, crushed rocks, spring flowers and kirsch. Stunningly rich and medium to full-bodied, with wonderful vibrancy, precision and minerality, this beauty could easily pass for a grand cru Burgundy – it’s that complex and interesting. I am blown away by what’s in the bottle, but you be the judge.
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.