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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.4 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 116 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by 3daywinereview.com on 10/2/2023 & rated 92 points: Day 1: Glad I held this bottle. I am sure on release a bit hot with the 15.5% alcohol but this is wonderful now. Black pepper, floral, soy, tar, roasted meats and dark fruits. Medium plus finish and balanced effort. Drink now to 2025. 92 points (348 views) | | | Tasted by redmd2203 on 1/6/2017 & rated 90 points: Maturing beautifully (3125 views) | | | Tasted by JGinMO on 4/16/2015 & rated 90 points: I appreciated the nuance in the fruit, and this was certainly well balanced, but there were overtones in the fruit I didn't find pleasing. Probably a bit past its peak (4717 views) | | | Tasted by SeattlePaul on 12/6/2014 & rated 90 points: Delicious, holding up well. Nice elegance and evolving complexity, too bad this was my last bottle. (4935 views) | | | Tasted by Marcos De Callis on 9/8/2013 & rated 92 points: - Ruby color. (6539 views) | | | Tasted by Marcos De Callis on 9/8/2013 & rated 92 points: - Ruby color and aromas of raspberry and has flavours of raspberry. (6405 views) | | | Tasted by rojoloco on 2/1/2013 & rated 92 points: I couldn't wait an hour after tasting moments after opening. Delicious wine. Very feminine and all back palate flavors. Unlike most wines with 15.5 percent alcohol, there is no heat at all. Been open about 45 minutes now and just delightful. Only have one more bottle though do have some Alto Moncayo.
Grenache, in my opinion, is a very underrated grape. (4765 views) | | | Tasted by vsbastosx on 10/27/2012 & rated 92 points: Decanted for 1 hour.
Gorgeous and lush on the nose with prominent scents of of ripe sweet fruits, oak, coconut and sweet figs. On the palate, this is full bodied, juicy, ripe (almost sweet) with medium-long aftertaste. The 15.5% alc doesn't overwhelm the fruits and roundness. This is really good! Excellent! Drink now - 2016.92+ (3874 views) | | | Tasted by gunnarm on 9/21/2012 & rated 75 points: either over the hill or bad bottle. (3843 views) | | | Tasted by tantotinto on 3/10/2012 & rated 90 points: Tasted immediately after opening. Crimson and almost completely opaque. Expressive nose of ripe red fruit. Raspberry, cherry and anise flavors. Big but not over the top. The fruit carries this but a bit more complexity would not be wasted here. (3433 views) | | | Tasted by davidspieker on 2/10/2012 & rated 90 points: Very fruity with dark cherry and vanilla flavors. Full body with decent acidity to balance. Lacks complexity but great value.
(3664 views) | | | Tasted by stoneb on 12/17/2011 & rated 90 points: Served at holiday party, and a real crowd-pleaser. Holding nicely, though no improvement from prior bottles. (3665 views) | | | Tasted by clutj on 9/8/2011 & rated 90 points: Rich, fruity, well-rounded by 2011 (3877 views) | | | Tasted by 11mcraig on 6/19/2011 & rated 92 points: - Crimsom color with medium forming legs and aromas of raspberry and blackberry. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Juicy texture with a medium finish. (4279 views) | | | Tasted by degrandcru on 4/8/2011 & rated 89 points: Big cherry & Vanilla on the nose. Big, bold and fleshy with a long spicy finish. Very high in Alcohol and not very complex. But good value for a big bold one. At about $24 I would buy it again. (4388 views) | | | Tasted by caeleric on 4/7/2011 & rated 84 points: maybe an off bottle. showed most of the typical arresting aromatics i've come to expect from this wine, but the finish was bitter and clipped. not at all the expansive, seductive finish of the other half-dozen bottles i've had of this. (4650 views) | | | Tasted by Jay Hack on 3/5/2011 & rated 91 points: The edge has come off this with a few more years in the bottle.The fruit is soft raspberry with some pepper spice and a bit of mocha on the back of the tongue. Less spice and softer, more supple fruit than the 2006 Chateauneuf I had earlier today that was also 100% Grenache. (4702 views) | | | Tasted by mxpbuy on 2/20/2011 & rated 91 points: Sampled 2/18/11. Decanted for 3 hours. Explosive overripe Grenache fruit up front with some smoke, tar and Oak on the back end. An interesting fruit bomb at a pretty good price point. (4545 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 1/9/2011 & rated 90 points: Opened and poured (although most was poured through a Vinturi aerator). Complex? Not really. Food-friendly? Maybe. Old-world earthy? Not a chance. Freakin' delicious? Oh yeah. A purple-colored fruit bomb with tons of purple fruit, smoke, and tannins, a fairly voluptuous texture, and a pretty decent finish. Eat your heart out, Kent Rosenblum. Not a "serious" wine, but a helluva lot of fun and a terrific value. (4764 views) | | | Tasted by stoneb on 1/8/2011 & rated 90 points: Deep purple color. Rich fruity nose. Clean, powerful dark berry fruit, oak and vanilla on the palate. Really enjoyable on the first night; faded considerably on the second night (vacu-vined), when the fruit faded and the heat came forward. Drink up over the next year. (4694 views) | | | Tasted by JOsgood on 12/25/2010: Ripe and modern. The masses always love this wine. (4863 views) | | | Tasted by RebeccAndy on 11/10/2010 & rated 95 points: Smoky goodness. Chocolate, dark fruit, baking spices. Had with steak and Chilean butternut squash casserole. (5262 views) | | | Tasted by gripNsip on 11/4/2010 & rated 83 points: I have absolutely LOVED this wine in the past, so what happened? The fruit is not the star in this wine like in previous bottles, the oak is more dominant, and the acidity is bordering on volatile. Still large in character all around, and still with good feel and length but it's almost like this wine is falling apart....? It's also pretty damn hot on the finish. It's boozy to the point it is almost offensive, that doesn't happen very often with me. I'm glad this is my last bottle. (5507 views) | | | Tasted by slywka7 on 9/18/2010 & rated 91 points: We popped and poured this one. Had some great aromas of cherry, spice, and raspberry. The wine was very full bodied and high in alcohol, but that's Alto Moncayo's style, a big almost over the top wine. What shows on the palate is big fruit but also a well-balanced wine. Had some great flavors of cinnamon, cherries and vanilla. (1684 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 8/17/2010 & rated 92 points: I think I can drink this up now. Doubt it will develop more. (5617 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Bodegas Alto Moncayo Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
[Importer bio?] Joint venture of Jose Miguel San Martin, Jorge Ordonez, Bodegas Borsao and Dan Phillips in conjunction with Chris Ringland. Winery is located in the town of Bulbuente. Grapes are sourced from 62 hectares (153.2 acres) of old clone Garnacha vines planted on hillside vineyards oriented to the southwest. A few of the vineyards are terraced. All the vines are vaso trained. The vineyards are located in 3 villages. Very unique soils of red clay (indicative of being rich in iron) mixed with red slate. Because of its hillside location the soils are very poor in organic matter and shallow. A few sites have calcareous soils. Continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. Nighttime during the summer brings cool temperatures to moderate the growing season. There is scant rainfall.GarnachaWikipedia: In Spain, Grenache is known as Garnacha and given the likely history of the grape this is most likely the grape's original name. There are several clonal varieties of Garnacha with the thin-skinned, dark colored Garnacha Tinta (sometimes spelled Tinto) being the most common. Another variety, known as Garnacha Peluda or "Hairy Grenache" due to the soft softly hairy texture on the underside of the vine's leaves is also found in Spain, mostly in Borja and Cariñena (Aragón). Compared to its more widely planted cousin, it produces wines lower in alcohol and higher in acidity that show spicy and savory notes more readily as they age.[11] Widely planted in northeastern and central Spain, Garnacha was long considered a "workhorse" grape of low quality suitable for blending. In the late 20th century, the success of the Garnacha based wines from Priorat in Catalonia (as well as the emerging international attention given to the New World Rhone Rangers) sparked a re-evaluation of this "workhorse" variety. Today it is the third most widely planted red grape variety in Spain (behind Tempranillo and Bobal) with more than 203,300 acres (82,300 ha) and is seen in both varietal wines and blends.[3]
Garnacha plays a major role in the Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOC/DOQ) wines of Rioja and Priorat and the Denominación de Origen (DO) wines of Navarra and all southern Aragonese and southern Catalonian appellations, plus the mountainous areas just southwest of Madrid: Méntrida and Cebreros. In Rioja the grape is planted mostly in the warmer Rioja Baja region located in the eastern expanse of the wine region. Usually blended with Tempranillo, Garnacha provides juicy fruitiness and added body. In recent years, modern Rioja producers have been increasing the amount of Garnacha used in the blend in order to produce earlier maturing and more approachable Riojas in their youth. Garnacha is also used in the pale colored rosados of Rioja.[3] The vine has a long history in the Navarra region where it has been the dominant red grape variety with nearly 54% of the region's vineyard planted with Garnacha. Compared to neighboring Rioja, the Garnacha-based blends of Navarra are lighter and fruitier, meant for earlier consumption.[5]Spain Vinos de España - Wines of Spain (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior) | Wikipedia
Wine Map on weinlagen-info
Spain is the third largest wine producing nation in the world, occupying the majority of the Iberian Peninsula with vast diversity in climate, culture, and of course, wine. From inky, dark reds of the [Priorat] to dry, white Finos from Andalusia, Spain can easily boast of elaborating a wide variety of notable styles. Within Spain there are currently 62 demarcated wine regions, of which a handful have gained international recognition: [Rioja], Priorat and [Ribera del Duero]. Yet these regions are only a small sample of the high quality wines Spain produces. Regions such as Cava, Penedes, Somontano, Galicia, Rueda and Jerez are only a few of the numerous regions worthy of exploration throughout Spain. Spain can also lay claim to having the most land under vine in the world, growing up to, by some accounts, 600 indigenous varietals of which Tempranillo is their most well known. Other popular varietals include [Garnacha], Bobal and Monastrell for reds and for whites; the infamous [sic] Palomino Fino grape which is used in the production of sherry wine, Pedro Ximenez in Montilla Morilles, Albarino used in the creation of the bright, effervescent wines of Galicia, and Verdejo in Rueda. - Source: - Catavino.net
Spain is not in the forefront of winemaking for its dessert wines, other than for its sweet wines from Sherry country including the highly revered Olorosos (when sweetened). But apart from Sherry Spain has a range of styles of dessert wines, ranging from the those made from the Pedro Ximenez grape primarily in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles) to luscious, red dessert wines made in the Mediterranean from the Garnacha (Grenache) grape. Some good Moscatels are made in Mallorca, Alicante and Navarre. The northwest corner of Spain, Galicia, with its bitter Atlantic climate, is even making dessert wines, called “Tostadillos” in the village of Ribadivia (similar to France’s “Vin de Paille”). The Canary Islands have made interesting dessert wines for centuries (they are mentioned by Shakespeare, for example) and in recent years the quality of winemaking has been improved and the Canary Islands wines are being better marketed now. The winemaking styles for “Vinos Dulces” are also diverse, from “Late Harvest” (Vendimia Tardía) to “Fortified Wines” (Fermentación Parcial). Based on in-spain.info.Aragón Aragon (wikipedia)Campo de Borja DO Campo de Borja
Campo de Borja is een streek die in het westen ligt van de regio Aragón en geografisch gezien is het een voortzetting van zuid Navarra. De wijngaarden staan op een hoogte van 350 tot 700 meter in een bodem die vooral bestaat uit bruine, zanderige aarde en kalksteen. Dit bodemtype bevordert de drainage en is rijk aan calcium en silicium. Ideaal voor het produceren van kwaliteitswijnen. Het klimaat in Campo de Borja is continentaal. Hete zomers, koude winters en maar weinig neerslag. Gelukkig maakt de wintermist veel goed. Wijngaarden in deze regio bestaan vaak uit de druivensoort Garnacha. Tegenwoordig wordt deze ook aangevuld met Tempranillo en Cabernet Sauvingon. Campo de Borja heeft een D.O. status sinds 1980.
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