From the Cellar
Montesierra 2000 Reserva (Spain)
06 Jan 2015- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(November 6, 2014) ... Somedays I feel more adventurous than others, this was one of those days. I dug deep into the wine cellar to locate this bottle from Spain: Montesierra 2000 Reserva ... from the Somontano region of Spain, a surprisingly good blend of equal parts Moristel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo. Now I hear you saying, "I've heard of the other two, but what the heck is Moristel?". I too had to look it up as it was news to me. According to our good friends at Wikipedia: "a minor Spanish red grape variety. It is mainly found in the autonomous region of Aragon and is one of the authorized varieties of the Somontano Denominación de Origen (DO). It has medium sized, compact bunches with medium sized, cylindrical shaped, berries with a blue hue. Traditionally it has been used for blending with other varieties to add body and colour to the wine". Now you know too. As for the wine itself, the nose is positively woody, but in a good way, while the palate delivers on dried fruit and woodiness in the form of vanilla, cedar and cinnamon toast. I found it quite good and palatable for its age. Smooth, silky, with a little hint of wood-derived tannins on the finish. I kept thinking, this wine is very enjoyable; there's even a sexy sweetness that sits right in the middle of this wine 30 minutes after opening and after an hour it develops a certain kind of vanilla smokiness.
