Alto Moncayo 2009 Garnacha Bodegas Alto Moncayo is truly among one of Spain’s finest wine estates. Bodegas Alto Moncayo is a joint venture of Jorge Ordoñez, Jose Miguel San Martin, Dan Phillips together with Bodegas Borsao. Their flagship wine is Alto Moncayo made from 100% old vines Grenache grapes. Their website is still being developed, but check out what they have and read the reviews from Robert Parker, a top U.S. wine critic. Located in the town of Bulbuente, Spain, the winery possesses very unique soils of red clay and the hillside location provides soils very poor in organic matter and shallow. Opening a bottle of the 2009 Bodegas Alto…
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La Cartuja Priorat 2013 La Cartuja is a unique wine produced in the Priorat region, one of the most prestigious appellations in Spain. Priorat is special due to the unmistakable mineral identity that the licorella (volcanic Slate) imparts in its wines. When you taste a Priorat wine, you are not only tasting a grape but also a place. The mineral flavors of the place overpower the natural flavors of the grape. La Cartuja was born in 2007 with the objective of bottling a special wine that is able to capture the mineral identity of this unique territory. A second objective with La Cartuja was to make a Priorat that approachable…
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Muga 2005 Gran Reserva Prado Enea Since the XVII century, the Muga family has been linked to the wine world and to the area of Rioja. Fast forward to 1932 when Bodega Muga winery was founded and today the winery operates with the same principals it did almost 100 years ago. Muga also has its own cooperage and is able to control the right touch of oak desired in its offerings. Opening a bottle, which I let sit for about an hour, the color was a glistening bright ruby. The nose was clean with plenty of ripe red and black fruit with a touch of spice and herbs. The wine…
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Muga 2009 Reserva Unfiltered Since the XVII century, the Muga family has been linked to the wine world and to the area of Rioja. Fast forward to 1932 when Bodega Muga Winery was founded and today the winery operates with the same principals it did almost 100 years ago. Muga also has its own cooperage and is able to control the right touch of oak desired in its offerings. Opening a bottle, which I let sit for about an hour, the color was a glistening deep ruby. The nose was clean with plenty of ripe red and black fruit with a touch of spice. The wine is made from 70%…
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Marqués de Murrieta 2007 Rioja Reserva I recently reviewed Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta’s Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2005, see my June 27, 2014 Cellar Selection review, which is their outstanding flagship wine made only in exceptional years. Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta was founded by Luciano Francisco Ramon de Murrieta in 1852. He spent his youth in Peru and then moved to London. In 1844, Luciano settled in Spain and decided to make wine. In 1878, he purchased the 300-hectares Ygay Estate in the Rioja Alta. Queen Isabel II made him Marquesado de Murrieta; and so the estate of Marqués de Murrieta was born. In 1983, Bodegas Marqués de…
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Breca 2011 Garnacha Old Vines I am going to comment on another fine selection from the Jorge Ordoñez Group. They produce some of the most admired and prized wines internationally. My previous comments were on LaCana, see my January 22, Post. The Bodegas Jorge Ordoñez was founded in 2004 by the Ordoñez family from Malaga and the Kracher family from Austria, together with a group of friends and entrepreneurs from Malaga. Perhaps the most novel aspect of this winemaking venture was to enlist the services of world-renowned Austrian winemaker, Alois Kracher, who was the undisputed number one in Austrian sweet wines. He was succeeded by his son Gerhard Kracher in…