Estrecho Monastrell 2019

Estrecho Monastrell is one of the most exceptional wines the Enrique Mendoza winery produces in Alicante, made from Monastrell grapes growing in a single estate in Villena known as 'Estrecho de Pipa' with unique sandy soil characteristics. Estrecho de Pipa is a traditional vineyard with 1,500 goblet-trained dry-farmed vines per hectare fertilized using organic compost made from sheep manure at the winery itself. Harvest time is usually at the beginning of September and is the result of a year of hard and careful work in the field without the use of herbicides or insecticides. Organically cultivated, the only treatments used on the vines involve sulphur, copper and biological methods in line with the winery's awareness of environmental concerns. The vinification process is designed to highlight the delicacy and elegance of the grape variety, without excessive extraction and with 16 months' ageing in 500-litre French oak barrels. Estrecho Monastrell immediately reveals itself as a wine with soul, ready to be enjoyed immediately, but also suitable to keep for many years. A ruby-red colour with maroon glints on pouring, it is a clear, bright and lively wine. Aromas of plentiful fruit blend in perfectly with the wood in a balanced result. Clear and elegant hints of herbs, undergrowth, humus, damp earth, pines, rosemary, ripe red fruit and fig bread combine with the fine notes of smoke and cedar gained from ageing. It has a fine mouthfeel with sweet and grainy tannins while its freshness and acidity make it a lively wine and compensate for its alcoholic strength. Estrecho Monastrell is a splendidly long and unctuous wine, expressing the spirit of a sunny land and its people in a homage to the winemaking region of Alicante.