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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2008 and 2011 (based on 3 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 86.5 pts. and median of 87 pts. in 27 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by prasm on 9/22/2015 & rated 86 points: Last of 4 bottles from Garagiste, last one consumed in Oct. 2010. Popped and poured, consumed over 2 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, violets, rock candy, blue fruit, and iron. Palate: Medium bodied, tart attack, sour blue fruit appearance through the mid-palate with black pepper hints, finish is dominated by tart blue fruit - medium length. Looking back at my previous notes I think the best days for this wine are already past. (1961 views) | | | Tasted by dfeiner on 4/18/2011 & rated 90 points: Some cherry, tea and menthol on the nose. Rich mouthfeel with good acidity and cherry fruit flavors. Surprisingly good right now. (4720 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 3/2/2011 & rated 86 points: Slightly bricking medium dark red violet color; reduction, tart red berry, charcoal, graphite nose; reduction, tart red berry, tart red plum, charcoal palate with some sweetness; medium-plus finish (2494 views) | | | Tasted by RoysterWright on 11/9/2010 & rated 87 points: earthy with really nice fruit notes. I truly enjoyed my earlier bottles. This is my last and its working to the back side of it's prime. (4938 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 10/24/2010 & rated 88 points: Nose: Having 2 large breed dogs I'm very familiar with the dominate aroma from this bottle - dog poop (and I like it!), with cherry, pomegranate, and a little spice I can't quite nail. Palate: Medium bodied, high acidity, with red fruit and black pepper. Finish: Medium length dominated by nice red fruit and hints of pepper. Can't expect any more out of a <$10 bottle. (4962 views) | | | Tasted by hawk30 on 8/9/2010 & rated 87 points: Popped and poured. Nose of leather and earth, some barnyard, that dissipated with air. Lighter bodied, velvety, with strawberries and cherries. I second the chocolate note. Lacks any harshness. A good value. (5374 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 8/6/2010 & rated 88 points: Consumed over 2 days, consistent notes. Nose: Raspberry, cherry, pine forest, and earth. Medium intensity on day 2 - less so on day 1. Palate: Medium to light bodied, some red fruit, a little chocolate component, seems to dissipate from the middle to the back-end dramatically. Finish: Lengthy, but subtle, dominated by light red fruit and chocolate. For a $9 wine this is an excellent QPR. (3486 views) | | | Tasted by Dillo on 8/4/2010 & rated 87 points: Dark, blackberry fruit, along with some funky barnyard, animal and leather on the nose. Palate leans more toward red fruits with tart red cherry and cranberry - Medium length and good acidity. Solid wine (2852 views) | | | Tasted by Purple Cafe & Wine Bar on 3/22/2010: From the website: Aged two years in the bottle before
release (thus, the “Dos Año").6000 CASES PRODUCED; In the Rhone Valley, French vintners have long made a stylish wine from Mourvèdre.
Less polished, but perhaps more striking, is this Mourvèdre (known in Spain as Monastrell) from the
backwaters of Spain, in the arid climes of Bullas. With aromas of plum preserves, Partaga ash, soy, and sage
blossom, this is a powerfully authentic wine that wears its caballero saddle-leather personality with panache. (1330 views) | | | Tasted by niwotcellar on 2/28/2010 & rated 80 points: decanted for 1 hour. Had a bad linger in the mouth. See dbp below. I couldn't detect what it was, but it was not good. (3110 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 2/21/2010 & rated 86 points: Medium garnet red color with pale meniscus; dried berry, dried cherry nose; light-medium-bodied, tart cherry, garrigue, mineral palate with a hint of anise; medium finish (3177 views) | | | Tasted by curtispomeroy on 1/27/2010 & rated 87 points: Enjoyed more than last bottle. Good quality for the price. (3093 views) | | | Tasted by AndrewSGHall on 12/26/2009: Nice balance of a very light footprint with a nice range of flavor, dominantly fruit. (3267 views) | | | Tasted by WetRock on 11/4/2009: Ripe and almost Zin like fruit on the nose. More Mouvedre like on the 2nd night. Good amount of leanish styled yet almost big fruit. Good balancing acids keep this a step above most cheaper reds. Great effort of the price point. (3518 views) | | | Tasted by AndrewSGHall on 8/2/2009: Expressing more depth and complexity than earlier bottle. I like the lightness of step and dynamicism of the fruit. (3618 views) | | | Tasted by curtispomeroy on 7/21/2009 & rated 85 points: Good food wine. Nice nose but a bit of a lightweight on the palate. Serves its purpose well and the quality is quite good for the price. (3729 views) | | | Tasted by WetRock on 5/26/2009: Plastic cork. Smells of Mouvedre giving the animal and dark rocks character over dark berry fruits. Palate again shows straight forward Mouvedre character with plenty of acidity. A nice dinner wine and well put together for $9 if lacking any complexity. Not extracted or jammy but a nicely balanced table wine. Held up identically over 3 nights in the fridge. (3717 views) | | | Tasted by David Paris (dbp) on 5/11/2009 & rated 85 points: Popped last night, cork put in it, note taken 24 hours later. Deep color, but actually quite transparent; almost like a Pinot Noir. Nose is a bit more interesting than last night, but still showing some nice, pure strawberries, but also gravel and it also smells like something's off gassing... perhaps some cooked inorganic material. Can't quite pinpoint it. It almost smells astringent, almost burning, but it's interesting. A bit harsh in the mouth, showing more of the weird burning thing and rancid beef. Some funked cabbage, with more rancid beef on the finish. I enjoyed this much more yesterday... around 87 points. Today it's drinking more like 82 (score it in the middle). Surprised how just one night killed this wine. (3750 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 5/10/2009 & rated 87 points: Consumed over 2 days. Nose: Tight, some red fruit, raspberry - not much else going on. Palate: Medium to light bodied. Sour cherry up front - short finish. Pretty un-interesting wine, though not bad. Held up over 2 days well. Easy drinking. OK - not great. (3696 views) | | | Tasted by AndrewSGHall on 4/19/2009: Light and structured for Monastrell. Not complex or expansive, but good acids and balance. Nice. (3750 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 4/19/2009 & rated 85 points: Dark red violet color; charcoal, tart black fruit nose; tart, herbal black fruit, charcoal and bay laurel palate, with firm tannin; short finish 85+ pts. (3661 views) | | | Tasted by JasonNYC1 on 4/15/2009: For $10 not bad. Though a bit funky at first - very fruit forward in my opinion. Food wine for sure. (3839 views) | | | Tasted by danseng on 1/7/2009 & rated 85 points: For $10 this isn't too bad. Finishes with a lot of acidity at first, but that settles down after an hour. Good food wine. Nothing that will change your day, but for $10 it is certainly a good everyday drinker. (3939 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jon Rimmerman
Garagiste (6/24/2008)
(Juan Garcia (San Isidro) CEPAS DEL ZORRO) Post Modern #2 Dear Friends, Yesterday we debuted a white wine from the new movement in Spain and today it is a red, from the most unlikely of places - Bullas, the next frontier of Spain. Juan Garcia, a fourth generation winemaker from this high altitude zone surrounded by natural parks and mountains (south of Valencia), is set to make this region the northern Rhone of Spain - but instead of Syrah, he's doing it with Mouvedre. In some ways this is like blending the Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone with a dash of Spanish mystery and laying it out there for all to see. There is no oak, no tricks - nothing. In a very interesting interpretation, he takes the young wine from his best, most concentrated vines (over 100 years of age) and immediately removes it from tank ageing after only a few months. It is then rushed to bottle to retain the acidity and freshness and there (in bottle) it is ages for two full years in the cellar. Sometimes called the "Dos Anos del Zorro" (two years of the fox), Garcia believes that if he traps the wine at a very early stage, all on the development and complexity will be "trapped" within the bottle and it will come out with aeration by the consumer, instead of evolving in tank. He wants a wine that is ready to drink on it's 2nd or 3rd birthday but will also last for several years after. This process also allows him to keep a Northern Rhone-like mid-weight character and low alcohol (12.5-13.0%) but stuff the bottle with dense, complex fruit that is more akin to the Southern Rhone. Yin and yang that meet in the middle and together it adds up to the Post Modern new face of Spain. No oak, low-alcohol, brimming sense of place and (yes it's true) acidity - all from the south of Spain. From 100% Mouvedre grown at close to 2000ft above sea level, this wine is like a home project of the highest order made from the fruit equivalent of something like Brunel's Centenaire source. To say this is one of the highest quality vineyards in Spain with unlimited potential is not a stretch. He has what others dream of - elevation, sun, fabulous soil, perfect exposure, century-old vines and an area that will not dictate a style that he has to follow. In the Post Modern mind, that is exactly what the young winemakers are looking for - a chance to create their own blueprint and be the new guard, the new Vega Sicilia of Spain. Even though he has no winery and does everything himself (like an artist with a mission), that's the way Juan Garcia wants it. The Cepas del Zorro is going to get noticed. This is not a chemistry lab wine created with 100,000 cases. It is a boutique wine of the highest order, made from a remarkable vineyard by a remarkable visionary that as harnessed the light-spirited soul of a place (and of a grape) in a glass enclosure. Not that this affects the wine but it has one of the more beautiful traditional labels from Spain depicting a fox's attempt at grape thievery - it is always remembered by those that see it and we hope he never changes the artistry - it is as homespun as the lovely, mineral drenched wine inside. This rustic wine is alive and it will be obvious when you taste it. How can he sell at this price? Why not? He has no one but himself to pay and he's already done that with the artistic process. A real gem. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for century-old vine reflection of place and soul: 2006 Juan Garcia (San Isidro) "Cepas de Zorro" (the Fox) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Spain8790 |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Garagiste. (manage subscription channels) |
| Monastrell-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourv%C3%A8dre -
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.MurciaLocated in Southeastern Spain, the "lost" region of Yecla lies to the east of Jumilla and to the west of Alicante. Fortunately, this region was spared much of the wrath of the phylloxera plague, and many ungrafted and extremely old vines remain. The Yecla region’s progressive leader, Bodegas Castaño, has long been an advocate of the Monastrell varietal, also known as Mourvèdre. The varietal is best regarded for its influence on the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape where the terroir and climate is not dissimilar to that of Yecla. Both benefit from a very warm, Mediterranean climate with warm days and nights. |
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