Altos de la Hoya Altos de la Hoya Monastrell 2022 750ml

The dry-farmed and head-pruned vines have an average age of 45 years. The Monastrell is complemented by 5% Garnacha and fermented in 10,000-liter stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured 50/50 in 500-liter barrels and 6,000- and 10,000-liter oak vats for six to eight months. The wine has notes of ripe black fruit, Mediterranean herbs and a spicy, creamy and smoky touch from the oak. It's juicy, round and fleshy, with 14.5% alcohol and good balance and almost unnoticeable tannins.

I was less taken by the oak in the 2020 Altos de la Hoya, produced in a more commercial and mainstream way from ungrafted old Monastrell vines. But there's good fruit and depth here, a medium to full-bodied palate and fine-grained tannins, and the wine has the stuffing and balance to overcome the creamy oak with some more time in bottle. It matured in a mixture of oak vats and barrels for some six to eight months. 200,000 bottles produced.

A fruit-expressive nose with blueberries, violets and hints of pepper and prunes. Quite fresh and elegant on the palate, showing an array of sweet berries, rounded by firm and ripe tannins. Fine-grained and spicy. Drink now.