Winemaker Notes
This wine is 100% hand harvested Monastrell (Mouverdre) from a single vineyard in the Los Chacayes IG within the Uco Valley. The nose is bright with notes of sweet black cherry and cocoa that lead into a soft, round mid palate with hints of tobacco and dried leaves. The fruit is held up by vibrant acidity and light tannin. The finish is juicy and long that begs you to have aniother glass.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The bright ruby colored 2018 Monastrell is more delicate than the majority of Monastrell wines from Spain—paler and more aromatic, less rustic but still keeping varietal character. It fermented with full clusters for eight days at low temperature with a very soft extraction. It has very fine, chalky tannins and a fine-grained texture. This was completely unoaked, kept in concrete egg with the lees for six moths.
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.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.