Tag Archives: Monastrell

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #19: Lorca Redux (2008)

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In the last Mourvèdre Monday post, I reviewed the Lorca 2006 Monastrell from Bodegas del Rosario. I wasn’t planning on doing this Lorca 2008 back-to-back with the last, but our dinner of chorizo, shrimp, olives and rice made me want to go to Spain with my wine choice, and this is the last Spanish Monastrell I had on hand. As you may recall, the 2006 did not leave me with high hopes for this one, but I pulled the cork and hoped for the best.

Lorca Monastrell 2008

Producer: Bodegas del Rosario

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (same grape as Mourvèdre, for newcomers). The 2006 had 30% Syrah.

Appellation: Bullas (D.O. Spain)

Vineyards: From youngish (10-20 years), dry-farmed vines at altitudes ranging from 550 to 1060 meters. The soil is clay, sand and limestone.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation and 8 months in 2-year-old French and American oak

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $9 or $10 at Costco

My tasting notes: Sticking my nose in the glass, I get the sense of walking the aisles at a hardware store. I start in Aisle 1 with the paint thinner and other solvents. Aisle 2 is the loose nails and bolts. Aisle 3 for some lumber. Oh look, they’ve got cherry Tic Tacs at the checkout. On the palate it’s light with the same sort of dusty red fruit as the 2006 bottling, still without much pop. It disappears very quickly at the end. A very flat experience.

Overall impression: Once again, the Lorca is not fun to drink. Please don’t make this your first Monastrell if you’ve never had one. Try this one or this one or this one instead. C-

Free association:

Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman via Flickr

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #18: Lorca 2006

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I already had a bottle of the 2008 Lorca waiting for it’s turn on Mourvèdre Monday when I saw this 2006 stacked up at Costco. I had high hopes this could be another nice Costco find. I originally intended to do a mini-vertical and open both of these at the same time for this post, but I already had 2 or 3 other half-empty bottles of wine open and felt guilty about opening two. So I’ll pop the 2008 another time. Let’s check out the 2006.

Producer: Bodegas del Rosaroio

Grapes: 70% Monastrell and 30% Syrah

Appellation: Bullas (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: no detail on the website

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: I don’t think this (the ‘Tinto’) sees any oak (they have ‘Barrica’ and ‘Crianza’ bottlings that get the oak)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: About $10 at Costco

My tasting notes: Not much fruit on the nose. Instead I get chalk dust and mineral aromas and a vegetal, whats-that-funky-smell-coming-from-behind-the-couch quality. Not promising. On the palate, it’s light-bodied and thin with the suggestion of dusty red fruit and a tight, dry, short finish. “Intense odor, complex sensations” is a tagline they use on the website. I think I agree, though not in the way they probably intended.

Overall impression: Not very fun to drink. I’m not too excited about opening the 2008 now. C-

Free association: Writing about this wine makes me feel pissy like Kristen Wiig’s Aunt Linda character from SNL…

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More info:

Wine Spectator: 86 points

Other blogger reviews at Dallas Wine Blog and Wine Belly.

Fun fact from the Bodegas del Rosario website: “in Bullas (Murcia), in the mid 19th century, [Monastrell/Mourvèdre] was also known as Casca del País.”

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #17: Carro Tinto 2008

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This wine always catches my eye on the shelf, with it’s orange label and simple design. I’ve had past vintages and like it pretty well, so let’s see what’s up with the 2008.

Carro Tinto 2008

Producer: Bodega Señorio de Barahonda. They put out 10 or 12 different bottlings of Monastrell or Monastrell blends under the Barahonda, Carro and Bellum labels, including two previous Mourvèdre Monday wines: the Barahonda Monastrell 2006 (B-) and the Nabuko 2007 (B). Based on past results, I’ll taste as many of their wines as I can find.

Grapes: 50% Monastrell, 20% Syrah, 20% Tempranillo and 10% Merlot

Appellation: Yecla, (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: From high-altitude vineyards (2339 feet) with rocky limestone soils.

Winemaking: no oak

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9 or $10, usually

My tasting notes: Dusty blue and black fruit on the nose with significant earthiness, minerality and barnyard funk. On the palate, the funk goes on and on, with a strong meaty/animal aspect that brings to mind that episode of Man vs. Wild when Bear Grylls snacks on a dead Zebra (I mean that in the best possible way). There are some nice smoke and pepper/spice notes.  The fruit is there, too — blackberry & plum — but it’s not playing the starring role. The wine finishes very dry with a pronounced iron/mineral character that I’m enjoying.

Overall impression: Old World fans will find a lot to like here, while I suspect New World-ers may fear the funk. Give it a good bit of air for best results. I like what it brings to the table for $10. And, while only 50% Monastrell/Mourvèdre, it delivers a lot of that grape’s character, for my palate. B/B-

Update 6/08/2010: This review was written after one evening with the bottle. The next day, I finished the other half of the bottle and it was drinking beautifully on day two. So I’m bumping it to a full B.

Free Association:

More info:

88 points Parker (Jay Miller) and 87 points IWC.

Other blogger reviews: Bottle a Day, Wine Reviews You Can Understand and Wine-Smith

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #16: Sierra Salinas ‘Mo’ 2006

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It’s been a little while since a Spanish Monastrell has made an appearance on Mourvèdre Monday. This one comes from Sierra Salinas in the Alicante region focused on the Monastrell grape.

Producer: Bodegas Sierra Salinas

Grapes: Primarily Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre), with Garnacha Tintorera (which is not Garnacha/Grenache, but the same as Alicante Bouchet), Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Appellation: Alicante (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: 10-20 year old vines in limestone and clay soil at 600 meters

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: 4 months in French oak (% new unknown)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: About $10

My tasting notes: The nose has a prominent dustiness coating the blueberry and chocolate notes. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and starts off a bit rustic, but smoothes out. It features raspberry and blueberry flavors with a touch of minerality and a dry, dusty finish.

Overall impression: Dominique Roujou De Boubee, who is a consultant for Sierra Salinas and has commented here a few times, called this an “easy wine”. I agree. It is not a complex, “thinking” wine, but a pleasant and enjoyable bottle nonetheless. Worth checking out at this price. B-

Free association:

More info:

Big pub scores: 90 points from Parker and 88 points from Tanzer.

Lots of ratings at CellarTracker (avg: 87)

Imported by Eric Solomon.

A profile of the winery (including a review of this bottle) is at CataVino.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #10: Nabuko 2007

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This is the tenth installment of Mourvèdre Monday. Click here for the other posts in the series.

We return to Spain for this week’s Mourvèdre Monday post. And not only back to Spain, but back to the producer of Week 1’s wine: the Barahonda 06 Monastrell. This is another wine in their lineup – this one blended with Syrah.

Producer: Señorio de Barahonda

Grapes: 50% Monastrell (Mourvèdre), 50% Syrah

Appellation: Yecla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: High-altitude (2339 feet)

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: A brief stint (3 months) in French oak

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $15

My tasting notes: On the nose, I get smoky wild berry fruit with aromatic herbs. A bit of cranberry juice cocktail and earthy minerality. It feels alive in the mouth with a prickly acidity, almost like your mouth feels after eating Pop Rocks. It dances across the tongue rather than coating it. The flavors are a bit richer and darker than that would suggest: plummy and chocolatey – almost like a chocolate soda. The green/herbal note from the nose sticks around here as well. On day 2, it’s drinking very nicely. That initial prickly-ness is gone and the wine has smoothed out and feels more “complete”.

Overall impression: Another enjoyable Monastrell – this one a bit more interesting and nuanced than some of the others. Not sure it’s a “No Brainer” like the label says (that’s what the NB stands for in the picture below), but worth checking out. B


Free association:

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fragmented/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

More info:

90 points from Parker: “The 2007 Nabuko is a blend of 50% Monastell and 50% Syrah aged for three months in French oak. Purple-colored, the aromatics feature fragrant blueberries and blackberry. This is followed by a chewy, layered wine with spicy blue and black fruits and mineral notes making an appearance. Long and rich, this tasty, balanced effort can be enjoyed over the next 4-5 years.”

More reviews at Johnston Spissinger Wine Blog, Honolulu Wine Scene and CellarTracker.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvedre Monday #8: Castaño Monastrell 2007 Rosado

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A recent post over at Benito’s Wine Reviews got me thinking about rosé. I need a reminder every once in a while. Almost every time I drink one, I think, “Why don’t I drink this more often?” Then I go back to my reds and whites. So, as I was contemplating what to pull from the cellar for this week’s Mourvedre Monday post, I thought of this rosé (or, more properly, rosado – though they use the term rosé on the back label). I’ve been on the hunt for the red Monastrell from Castaño, which has been recommended to me by several folks following Mourvedre Mondays. I haven’t found it yet in my local shops, but I did come across their rosé, which is how this ended up in my cellar to begin with. I haven’t done a rosé yet in this series, so it seemed like good timing. Let’s check it out.

Producer: Bodegas Castaño – a major producer in Yecla, owning about 10% of the vineyard land in the DO

Grapes: 90% Monastrell, 10% Garnacha

Appellation: Yecla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: Limestone soils. 25-30 year old vines.

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: Stainless steel aging (based on 08 info; no info on website about 07)

Alcohol: 13%

Price: Around $10

My tasting notes: The color is quite red for a nominally pink wine. Kinda like the color of red wine in TV sitcoms. (You ever notice that?) It smells like it’s going to be a sweet wine — kind of a burnt sugary thing — but with some good juicy strawberry and raspberry aromas. Also some Slim Jim on the nose (Oh Yeeeeah!). Good weight in the mouth and some strawberry and apple skin notes, but some slightly oxidized flavors as well. Pretty awkward overall.

Overall impression: Not an especially pleasurable beverage. You can do way better than this. C-

Free association: The kind of rosé an undiscerning Stormtrooper might order.

Photo credit: Greg Easton Photography (via Flickr). Be sure to check out the whole Adventures in Stormtrooping series and his other toy collections (prepare to lose an hour or two of your life!).

More info:

Imported by Eric Solomon.

Reviews at CellarTracker (avg: 81) and another at Chicago Vines Society, who liked it more than me.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #6: Wrongo Dongo 2008

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I intended to avoid Spain for this week’s Mourvèdre Monday. Three of the first 5 installments have been Spanish Monastrells and I wanted more variety. I had my sights set on opening either a Bandol or an Aussie bottle in my cellar. But I’ve been sick since last Monday and I’m just getting back to relative normalcy. I decided to open the cheapest bottle of Mourvèdre I have on hand, in case my palate wasn’t quite ready (it was fine). I know very little about this bottle other than it’s from the same producer as the Juan Gil 2007 I liked quite a bit. Oh, and it cost me less than six bucks so what did I have to lose? Next week I’ll do my best to bring something serious to the party.

Producer: Bodegas Juan Gil

Grapes: 100% Monastrell

Appellation: Jumilla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: no info

Vintage: 2008

Winemaking: no info

Alcohol: 15%

Price: I paid $5.71 at Spec’s in Austin.

My tasting notes:  On the nose it kind of pings around from Robitussin to earth & black pepper to blueberry-scented magic marker. On the palate it’s smooth-textured with dried cherry and blackberry fruit, a mineral component that makes me think of a wharf and a bit of a chocolate note at the end. Like many of the other reviews linked below, I get the black tea astringency. It’s kinda of like an unsweetened blackberry-flavored tea.

Overall impression: I don’t know that I’m really digging this one. If you’re looking for super-cheap bottles that aren’t bad, give this one a try. But for me, I’d rather drink something else. C

Free association:

More info:

88 points Jay Miller for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Other reviews at Palate Match, Fermented Reviews, The Small Wine Review, CellarTracker (avg. 81 pts) and Cork’d.

Anybody know the story behind the name? If so, please share.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #4: Juan Gil 2007

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This is the fourth installment of Mourvèdre Monday, VINEgeek’s yearlong deep-dive into the Mourvèdre/Monastrell/Mataro grape. Check out the other posts in the series here.

After I announced that 2010 would be The Year of Mourvedre here at VINEgeek Enterprises, I got lots of great recommendations from my fellow winos. This bottle was suggested by @Sonadora of Wannabe Wino blog.

Producer: Juan Gil

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre)

Appellation: Jumilla (say who-ME-ya)

Vintage: 2007

Vineyards: From estate vineyards of 40+ years of age. Soil: “shallow, chalky soils on a bed of limestone and rock”

Winemaking: 12 months in French oak barrels (not sure what % new)

Alcohol: 15%

Price: I paid $12 at Spec’s in Austin.

My tasting notes: Very deep color. On the nose I get dusty red and black fruit accented by a rich, chocolate/mocha note, mint and a spicebox character. There’s also a touch of greenness, as if you could smell the grape stems. In the mouth, it delivers ripe plummy/blackberry fruit, a brighter blueberry note and a touch of earth with chewy, grippy tannins in a full-bodied package. Enough acid on the finish and good, spicy length, though the alcohol can be felt in a sort of cool-mint kind of way. It really opens up with time in the glass and on the second day.

Overall impression: A rich, heady mouthful of flavor that avoids crossing the line into fruit bomb territory, yet delivers “oomph” for a reasonable price. B/B+

Free association: Something about this wine makes me think of Mr. T as B. A. Baracus. According to Wikipedia, in Spain he was known as Mario Baracus. Awesome.

"I pity the fool that don't appreciate Monastrell."

More info:

This wine was scored 90 points by Josh Raynolds, for Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar.

Check out the chalky soil and gnarly vines (note: I don’t know for sure if this photo is of the vineyards used for this bottling or other Juan Gil bottles):

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvedre Monday #3: Casa Castillo 2007

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I’m still sort of tip-toeing into this Mourvèdre Monday series. I’m saving the big guns for later in the year and I’m sticking with a bargain Spanish bottle again this week. This one got 90 points from Parker and Tanzer, so let’s check it out.

Producer: Casa Castillo

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (Mourvèdre)

Appellation: Jumilla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: From dry-farmed estate vineyards on the valley floor and lower slopes, with sandy clay soils. The vines are relatively young (up to 22 years old) and are bush vines, not trellised (see photos below).

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: Fermented with natural yeast. The wine spent six months in 3rd-year oak: 80% in 500-liter French oak barrels and 20% in 225-liter American oak barrels. (The latter size are the more common — these days anyway — Bordeaux-style “barriques”, the kind you probably have seen on a winery tour.)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9

My tasting notes: On the nose, I get bright berry fruit and spice, but also definite whiffs of horse stable and even body odor (thankfully fleeting). On the palate, the wine is high-toned with vibrant cherry, blueberry and raspberry flavors with a strong herbal edge, a bit of minerality, good acidity, and dry tannins. The herbal, high-acid character of this wine is almost Italianate to me. It really smoothes out nicely by the second glass and becomes almost sexy.

Overall impression: Very nice. I wasn’t sold on the first glass, but the second won me over. This wine is more high-toned and “fresh” than I expect from a Mourvèdre/Monastrell (especially Jumilla), but I really like it. A nice bargain wine, just give it some air. B+

Free association: Lois Lane as a centaur…

More info:

This wine scored 90 points from Parker and Tanzer. Meanwhile Gary V delivered a beatdown to this wine during his NYC week earlier this year, giving it a 68! (I bet it was a pop-n-pour situation.)

Photos of the vineyards that this bottle is sourced from:

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #1: Barahonda Monastrell 2006

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Just after the New Year, I decided to make 2010 ‘The Year of Mourvèdre‘ for VINEgeek and pledged to institute Mourvèdre Mondays. For this, the first installment, I didn’t want to begin with a top-dog wine (Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, for example), mostly because I didn’t want the rest of the year to seem like a letdown. I want to ease into this thing. We’ve got 50 weeks to go, dear readers. So I decided to go with an affordable bottle from Spain, where Mourvèdre (or Monastrell as they call it) originated. And fittingly for the first installment, we start with a winery whose “major ambition is to reveal the great potential of wines made with 100% Monastrell.”

Producer: Señorio de Barahonda

Grapes: 100% Monastrell

Appellation: Yecla (DO, Spain). 85% of the grapes grown in this region are Monastrell, according to the Oxford Companion to Wine (2006).

Vineyards: Barahonda owns 840 acres of vineyards in Yecla, with 500 planted to Monastrell. The age of the vines range from 15-120 years. The soils are composed of limestone and chalk topsoil with clay and gravel subsoil.

Winemaking: No oak treatment. (They do a version called Barahonda Barrica which sees time in oak and gets some Cab blended in.)

Alcohol: 15%

Price: I paid $13 at Central Market, but I see it online for $10.

My tasting notes: Rich blackberry jam and earth notes on the nose. More blackberry and maybe cherry flavors on the palate with a sort of meaty, roasted fruit quality. It’s somewhat soft-textured in the mid-palate, but not flabby. There’s a nice little prickle of minerality and acidity at the end. It finishes with a bit of tannic grip and some definite heat from the 15% abv.

Overall impression: A solid start to Mourvèdre Mondays. Tasty dark fruit with some character. If you can get it for around $10, that’s a good value. B-

Free association:

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drwhimsy/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

More info:

Other reviews at CellarTracker.

Some nice photos from the Barahonda website: