2020 Vicente Gandia “Ceramic” Monastrell, Criado en Tinaja, Valencia, Spain (Alcohol 14.5%, Residual Sugar 4 g/l) LCBO Vintages $24.95 (750ml glass bottle)
Made from old vines of dry farmed Monastrall (read: Spain’s take on the French Mourvèdre), this wine is aged on lees in French Allier oak barrels and then classical tinajas (ceramic vats) before bottling. The resultant wine is a testament to the very essence of older Monastrell wines, and while the intense rusticity may not be for every wine lover, it is certainly an aspect that I find myself increasingly drawn towards.
The bouquet is surprisingly somewhat at first, which is odd given the micro-oxygenation it would experience through the porosity of the ceramic vessels. Given some time to breathe in the glass, the nose really opens up and begins to express dark, plummy fruit, with expressions of fennel, leather, smokey garrigue herbs (rosemary/thyme in particular) and some extremely pleasant oak spice.
In the mouth the wine has a very attractive freshness, and all that dark fruit profile is given a wonderful retronasal lift. Despite the ripe and sweet tannins, this is a decidedly dry and savoury wine, with an appealingly sustained ripe, savoury finish. There’s a great depth of character here, especially for a wine under $25.
I’d like to try this with roasted suckling pig, or grilled lamb, and the latter is exactly what I’ll be doing with it later this week with my second bottle.
(Four out of a possible five apples)
Vicente Gandia are represented in Ontario by Dionysus Wines and Spirits.
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