A very classic Monastrell nose of earthy, animally plum and cherry, with a touch of honey and spice. In the mouth there is a rustic feel to it, the tannins and well defined and soft with a longish finish. Well balanced and fresh, with plenty of fruit, the palate shows more plum and cherry, herby undergrowth and black pepper, ink and gamey highlights. Maybe it was the food, but this looks more complete than the 2005. Still a hands down bargain. 89 Pts.

Estio made from 70% Monastrell with a bit Tempranillo and Syrah.

Bright red/pink in colour, it’s quite a striking colour. The nose is up front and straight forward: strawberry and a touch of soft plum, a bit of wild herbs. It’s quite juicy and fresh with some crunchy acid. Plenty to like on the palate, strawberry and raspberry fruit with some minerals and earthy herbs. Great drinking at this price. 87 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $19 Closure: Conventional Cork

 I ventured out to the Forum last night to see Supergrass. I’ve been a fan for a long time, in fact I Should Coco would be in my all time, top 5 albums. The lads are in top form (apart from Gaz’ amp playing up) and the new tracks are excellent live. I think they played half of I shoud coco, so I came home a very happy man. We had a glass of this before heading off to the gig.

Dominio Espinal is made from monastrell in the highlands in Yecla. This is very similar to the 2005 I tasted last year, consistency in a rose is always a good thing. You don’t want to think too much about it when you grab it from the fridge.

I love the colour of this wine, it doesn’t come out well in the jpeg (bloody photoshop!) but it’s a bright red.   The nose if full of red cherry and strawberry with toffee apple and an earthy/gamey note. Some of the descriptors here will sound sweet, the wine is very much in the dry rose spectrum with sweet fruit and candy aromas and flavors.  It’s well balanced with a little grip, which I like in rosado. It’s very tight when chilled, but let it warm up and it’s got a broad textured feel which is where the sweet spot is. Light cherry and apple in the mouth, I can’t seem to get the Toffee Apple character out of my head with this wine.   A long finish with tangy apple skin. Very good for days when you don’t want something too cold (like now in Melbourne) 88 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price:  Around $18 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastano.com

Other Vintages: 2005

Raspay Reserva is 100% monastrell from old, low yielding vines that spends a lot of time in old oak. The methods used are very traditional and this leaves the wine with a distinct old world character. I like to think of this wine as an old bloke who was always a snappy dresser and he’s still got it going on well into his 60s.

Updates will be a little slow for the next week or so, my home machine had it’s hardrive crash last week so it will take me a few days to get everything back in order. I’ve lost a few things, like price lists, so a few minor details will be missing for a bit. I’ll try to post a few things at work in between my regular game of schedule chicken (aka death by meeting)…

A really enticing nose of squashed ants, violets and roses, cherry and plum with a rustic earthy quality. Fine and soft tannins with very good balance and length. The palate shows pen ink, blackberry and plum, herby undergrowth and a little tar. Reliable and friendly, stylish but rustic. This isn’t just for the traditionalists, it’s a very reliable wine that just about everyone will get into. 91 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: ???  Closure: Cork

Web: www.primitivoquiles.com

Intense aromas of molasses, old coffee, wooden furniture, dried fruit, walnuts and spice cake on the nose. There is a little thickness in the mouth, but the overwhelming sense is that of smoothness. There is a little sweetness, but you could never call this a dessert wine. In the mouth, it fairly much mirrors the nose with a slightly bitter, nutty finish. This just keeps going, I could taste it minutes after taking my last sip. It’s hard to give something like this a score, but its at least 95+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: ???  Closure: Cork

Web: www.primitivoquiles.com

It’s a traditional style from Alicante made from Monastrell in a solera style environment. In this case the solera is one big barrel. The history of this style goes way back, it was well known back in the 1600s all around Europe and was the drink of choice for the nobility. I read somewhere that there are only 3 producers left making this style of wine, I’m not sure it’s that low but it is hardly a commercial production.

This one is the ‘baby’ in the family, the solera was started in 1948. The colour is of deep mahogany with an orange tint towards the edge. Intense and character filled nose with sweet raisins, a kind of peaty note, old wood all reinforced by a spirity alcohol note. Not that sweet in the mouth actually, it’s clean and bright with nuts, raisins, a little honey and fine tannins. Its kind of like madeira more than sherry, an intriguing wine that would be a hit in many of the fine dining restaurants around town. 92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: ???  Closure: Cork

The nose is quality monastrell: juicy plum, blue berry and honey with the trademark animal notes, a little dark cherry and nutmeg. Soft and rounded, but a few firm edges give interest as do the dusty tannins that are light and fluffy. It starts off all blueberry and violets on the palate, with some blackberry and plum with a touch of raisin. A bit of chewing tobacco too. Highly enjoyable, this one classy monastrell. Good value too. 91 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.salvadorpoveda.com

I've saved the best of these Toscar wines as the last post in the set. Before I tasted these 4, I wondered if the wine that the region is best known for, Monastrell, would come out on top. And it did. There is a bit more character with this wine, and if there is one thing I like in a wine, its personality and character. Many of the cheaper monastrells around can be a bit odd, but this is a good, honest wine that shows that a Monastrell that drinks well doesn't have to cost over $20.

As soon as I opened the bottle I could smell the earthy, dark cherry and plum and this built further in the glass show the classic wild animal and a touch of honey. Rustic and friendly, but quiet mouthfilling with bold flavours. Lush, chunky fruit tannin and a touch of acid adds real interest while the palate shows savoury plums, hot cinnamon, and some pen ink. A wine with true personality and rustic charm that is pleasure to drink with good Mediterranean style food. At $20 this would be a bargain, at $14 you'd fell like you've stolen it. 88 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $14 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.salvadorpoveda.com

Anyway, this is clearly the benchmark Monastrell.  A big call as we only have a dozen or so wines available in Australia, but there you go.  High altitude, old vines, careful oak treatment and smart winemaking all add up to a top end wine.  I'd like to try this against some the top end French mourvedre based wines, I think the quality here would shine though.

A nice cherry red at the edge of the glass, a bit darker towards the centre.  An expressive and rich nose of cherry, mulberry, anise/clove,  pepper, a bit of toasty wood and musk that is really enticing.  The approach is very burgundian, elegant, smooth and supple with attention to detail in all the right places.  Foggy, smooth tannins, great balance and just the right level of acid.  Tart cherry, mulberry and plum with sage and minerals.  Very long finish.  Excellent stuff. 95 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $65 Closure: Conventional Cork

Other vintages: 2003

Opens up with aromas of chary wood, earthy dark cherries and violets. A bit of time in the glass adds pepper and a bit of coco. Smells like it should be thick and full bodied, but its medium bodied and smooth. Quite young and fresh, balanced with a drying finish. Plenty of dusty tannins. Juicy, tart cherry and raspberry initially, with a bit of plum later on. A pin prick of acid on the finish with some minerals. Give this a good decant before drinking, or a couple of years in the cellar. 92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Bright ruby in colour.  Aromas of grilled meats, blackberry bubble gum and white pepper.  Bright fruit in the mouth, with fuzzy tannins and cranberry like acid.  Juby blackcurrant and blackberry fruit.  Really well done.  89 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price: $18 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastano.com

Very dark in the glass.  The nose gets things to a cracking start with vanilla and mocha, with earthy, tart cherries and blueberries. Tight, but well structured, plenty of nice dusty tannins and very good balance.  On the palate there is some great fruit: boysenberry, tart cherry, with liquorice, musk, sage.  A really long finish tops of the package.  I like this a lot, good value at $35 too.  91 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price:  $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegascastano.com

Anyway, here is a very interesting Monatrell from Alicante.  This one is from a magnum, which is about the right size for this wine, it's highly drinkable and evolves constantly over a couple of hours.  The vines are up very high at 2300 ft and are over 50 years old.  The wine sees 14 months in 500 litre French oak barrels.  For the Brett nazi's, there is a bit of barnyard on the nose, but I don't think its brett related.  I decanted half of this into a 750ml bottle and will have another look tonight.

Dark reddish purple with cherry red towards the edge of the glass.  A lot of changes in the glass over the couple of hours I drank this, started off with pink musk sticks and cherry on the nose that built into blackberry, smoke, sage and rosemary, a bit of anise and barnyard and minerally earth.  It hovers in between medium and full bodied. Not rustic at all, rather elegant and refined. It does need a good decant to really show it stuff, but the evolution in the decanter is very interesting to watch.  Soft, chalky tannins build a velvety texture, with the acid to keep you mouth fresh.  On the palate there is tart blackberry and boysenberry with earth, herbs and some minerals.  Good length on the finish.  Well worth tracking down, probably the best monastrell I've had to date.  92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $140 (1.5 Ltr) $65 (750mls)

 Closure: Conventional Cork

Each release of this wine has seen great improvement, this is definitely the best so far.  I can't tell if its good vintage conditions in 05, changes in wine making or something else completely. Alicante is in the province of Alicante, a bit closer to the coast than Jumilla and Yecla.  Not a lot of wine seems to make out of the D.O., but I notice that they grow Pinot Noir…

The 05 is a really smooth wine, with very good balance.  A purple/red colour in the glass, dark fruit, rose notes, earth and a few specks of pepper.  The alcohol is in balance with the fruit, the tannins are quite lush.  Medium bodied, but full of flavour. Very well priced too.  This will be great in autumn with a good stew.  87 Pts

This shows up quite dark for a rose, a crimson red colour.  You could almost fool people into thinking your drinking Pinot. The nose oozes light red fruits, fresh cherry and strawberry, with toffee and earth.  Well balanced, savory with sweet fruit.  Full of flavour and fruit in the mouth, red cherry, fresh apple and tangy Toffee Apple lollies (from the Redskin family).  The finish is crisp and is long finish too.  The thing I really like about this wine is that you don't need to chill it to death, the flavours a great with a bit of warmth without getting bitter as some roses do. 88 Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods wines Price:  Around $18 Closure: Synthetic Cork

Web: www.bodegascastano.com