El prestigioso Las Vegas Review-Journal elogia a Castaño Monastr

Siento, pero no me ha dado tiempo a la traducción, aunque +/- se entiende.

Noticia de www.reviewjournal.com Las vegas

WINE OF THE WEEK: Spanish wine breaking out of its shell

There is a tremendous amount of development in the Spanish wine industry, which traditionally concerned itself with the production of wines for domestic consumption. Yecla is a wine region on the East Mediterranean coast of the country, which is gaining a reputation as a source of clean, fruity and technically correct wines at good prices.

This is a change from the region’s output in the past, which was typified by rustic, high-alcohol reds, frequently featuring more than a touch of oxidation, a sign of poor winemaking. What’s special about this soon-to-be superstar region is that it has a microclimate that distinguishes it from the rest of the country.

Castano Monastrell is a superb example of the new style of wines from Spain. It is made from old-vine mourvedre (monastrell) and a touch of cabernet sauvignon, which works really well. It is a blockbuster for the price and undoubtedly one of the more interesting Spanish wines to come to market here in the past couple of years.

In the glass, this Castano Monastrell is a deep crimson-red color with a dense semi-opaque core going out into a pinkish-red rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose, the wine exudes bright forward crushed peppery black fruit and ripe red berries with underlying notes of eucalyptus leaf, cactus, licorice root, jerky, white pepper, fresh toast, and spice components over a slight touch of wood.

In the mouth, there is great density in the wine with mouth-filling and deliciously ripe extracted black and red berry fruit, loganberry juice, elderberries, spicy undertones from the muscular monastrell grapes and good backbone, with supple tannins that are perfectly ripe and not obtrusive. The midpalate is structured with yet more black peppery fruit and the finish in this wine lingers on the palate and after-mouth for a full minute, showing tasty huckleberry and vanilla-infused wood components.

This wine could use a good hour out of the bottle. Drink it with a barbecue chicken pizza. It should be good through 2007.

Wine: Castano Monastrell

Grape: Monastrell (97 percent), cabernet sauvignon (3 percent)

Region: Yecla, Spain

Vintage: 2003

Price: $7.99