A Wine by Any Other Name….
From Winexpress.ca:
A Wine By Any Other Name…
Whether you ask for Monastrell, Mourvèdre or Mataró (in Spain, France, California and Australia, respectively), you won’t find better examples of this noble black grape variety than wines from rolling hills of Yecla.
Here in arid, sun-burned southeastern Spain, this dry, smoky, savory-fruity brambly red wine is the offspring of gnarly 100-year-old vines, tended by generations of the Castaño family.
With their engaging Mediterranean personality, Monastrells range from light, fresh everyday rosés to intense, inky ageable powerhouse reds. Think rich, black fruit-driven Cabernet with firm tannins, sandalwood, blackberries and burnt plum, slightly rustic character and a hint of elegant oakiness. As Mourvèdre in France, this thick-skinned grape adds strength and sometimes gamey character to the mighty Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône and in Bandol on the Mediterranean coast.
In North America, La Casona Rosé, La Casona Monastrell and Hécula Monastrell from Bodegas Castaño are widely available and huge sellers starting at an amazingly low $8 plus, and the Castaño range peaks with Casa Cisca Monastrell at $65. That’ll take you all the way from pizza-barbie to rare Kobe beef steak, foodwise. Screwcaps are useful for easy opening but you’ll rarely need or want to re-seal a bottle!
Daniel Castaño and his two brothers, sons of founder Ramón, run the high-quality operation while star winemaker Mariano López, ex-Vega Sicilia, handles production, which includes traditional and (Beaujolais-style) carbonic wine making that mellows the red wines and enhances their fruitiness.
Daniel’s great-grandparents were making wine way back when the vines were young! With close to 500 hectares of choice vineyards between 400 and 700 metres in altitude, nurturing old vines and replanting new parcels, the family is now helping revive the once booming wine region, which was decimated by phylloxera that hit Europe in the 19th Century. Wine making in Yecla, between Murcia and Alicante, predates the Romans, whose name for Yecla was Hecula.
Far from being a single varietal one-trick pony, Castaño also grows Garnacha (Grenache), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah to blend with its Monastrell, as well as whites like Macabeo and Chardonnay. All are processed and aged in a state of the art, gravity-flow winery.
Monastrell, and Castaño, like Yecla, is enjoying a resurgence and the best is yet to come!
La Casona's Old Vines Monastrell scored an 89 with world-renowned wine critic, Robert Parker.
Exotically perfumed nose offers an attractive bouquet of dark berries and plum. Cherry-cola and blackberry flavours..... 88/100
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