Let me roll out some favorites on this topic, if I may:
“Do you have much experience in locating monastrell-based wines from southeastern Sopain? Because this wine’ origin, to me, seems pretty easy to pinpoint…”
“No blend of old-vines monastrell and cabernet sauvignon becomes “boring” at age four. It becomes shut down. Don’t confuse the two states. Monastrell needs many more years to really come around in a bottle, if it comes from low-yield, ‘serious’ vines as those the Juan Gil estate has.”
“Your knowledge of viticulture and oenology overwhelms me.”
“The comments here do hint at a general misunderstanding about monastrell. It’s mourvèdre, after all. We all know that you drink Tempier or Pradeaux either very young or after a patient ten-year wait.”
“It’s time to realize Spain has the world’s largest vineyard surface and as much variety as France or Italy.”
“You’re showing an amazing amount of arrogance, Max, by presuming to know how and with what purpose this wine was made and even asserting, in your first post, that it was “designed” to have a two-year life span. I’m not being geeky. I just know really about viticulture and oenology, and I know perfectly the vineyards and the winery where this wine comes from, and I know the people who make it. You don’t. You shouldn’t be assuming the producer’s goal: that’s a judgment of intention, and that’s not very nice from an ethical standpoint.
Then again, and mostly, there’s the evidence to be found by any experienced taster in the product itself. Whether it’s aggressively oaky when young - which is Chris Ringland’s well-known style, in Australia or anywhere - or not is rather immaterial when one considers that this wine:
a) is a blend of mourvèdre and cabernet sauvignon, two textbook long-aging grape varieties.
b) comes from old vineyards (yes, even the cab is 30+ years old), not irrigated, on very poor soils in Europe’s driest growing region, with yields of 20 hl/ha and less.
c) is given a decent period of barrel aging in good-quality oak
d) enjoys the acidity/structure/fruit/concentration balance that is a prerequisite for reds that age well.
Frankly, if the producer only wanted a brief outburst of pleasing explosiveness, he wouldn’t go to all that trouble, and he wouldn’t be making a red from those types of grapes in that type of terroir.”
"Max…friendly suggestion…you are over your head here…Victor is right about the wine IMHO…if you don’t like it fine…but please try and retaste it in about a decade…"
“Monastrell and shiraz, Alan - two entirely different animals. Not the best possible comparison.”
“Would you really expect complexity in a two-and-a-half year-old Tempier? Wines, even those from Spain, should be placed in the context of their terroir, their varietal composition, their vintage and their age.”
"No, you are not. Up to this point in the thread, there are three other persons who share your viewpoint, including Lyle, whose understanding of any Spanish wine made south of López de Heredia is a… rather radical one . OTOH, there are eleven who agree with me. "
I guess I could look for more but I think you get the drift. [laughingneqw.gif]