Barón de Ley Finca Monasterio 2021

The Finca Monasterio wine is made from grapevines planted in Mendavia in 1985, near the Benedictine monastery belonging to the Barón de Ley winery. The grapes are mainly Tempranillo but small amounts of other varieties are used too. They are harvested by hand and then undergo a strict selection process which can reject around 20% of the grapes. Only the best fruit is destemmed ready for the fermentation process which includes regular bâtonnage (lees stirring) and daily checks on the must. After a lengthy maceration period, lasting longer than the fermentation itself, the resulting wine has an excellent extraction of colour and tannins which provide it with the profile of a modern wine with a great future. It is aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels and then spends a further 6 months in 10,000-litre foudres made from the same oak. The wine is neither filtered nor stabilized before being released onto the market. The wine has an intense and dark Picota cherry colour, with a persistent rim of violet hues. Clear aromas of black fruit jams (blackberries and plums) dominate alongside balsamic wood, with hints of tea and herbal infusions, coconut, lactic notes, cocoa, and spices such as cloves. On the palate, the Finca Monasterio is well-structured, flavoursome, balanced and elegant. Juicy and embellished with balanced tannins, it has a penetrating smoky, almost peaty, undertone. Its rounded toasty finish makes it a mouth-watering drink.