The Honoro Vera Organic Monastrell is produced by Bodegas Juan Gil from organic vineyards in the Jumilla DO in Southeast Spain. Monastrell accounts for 85% of the grapevines planted in Jumilla. Monastrell is known as Mourvedre in France, Mataro in Australia and is the M in GSM. This is designated a “Young” wine, meaning it receives little or no oak aging, in this case no oak aging. This is a simply produced wine, from 30+ year old certified organic grapevines, everyday wine, you should be able to find it for $10 or less. The alcohol content is a stout 15%.
The color is raspberry jelly that becomes almost clear as it reaches the edge of the glass. This is a red wine that you can nose from a 16 inches away from the rim, the aroma is big and bold. Blackberry, bitter dark chocolate, raisin spice and licorice. The boldness carries over to the Monastrell flavors, blackberry and fig compete with Australian black licorice. The mid palate brings dried strawberry, raisins and a stiff brush of tannins, though they do not bite. The finish is full and very long.
The 2010 Honoro Vera Organic Monastrell is another of a long line of “how do they make a wine that good for so little money” wines from Spain. This Monastrell has “in your face” flavors that may not appeal to every wine drinker, you may prefer your Monastrell as a blending wine. But if you can dig where this wine is coming from, it is a lot of wine for the eight bucks I spent.
