2010 Espectacle del Montsant
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Tasting notes
Living up to its name, the 2010 Espectacle del Montsant, sourced from three hectares of centenary Garnacha and aged in a 4,500-litre oak foudre, has a really spectacular nose, with such perfume that it feels almost like a white, with notes of lilies, rose petals, lychee, orange blossom, candied violets and blood oranges. The palate is akin to chewing into maraschino cherries, full of energy, with musky flavors, a great, persistent aftertaste lingering in your mouth for minutes. Despite its 15% alcohol, the wine feels medium-bodied and easy to drink, it makes you long for the next sip. A wine to smell for hours, as it develops and changes like a chameleon in the glass: black olives, tree bark, kirsch, fennel, orange skin, violets, malt, and smoke. A superb, world-class Garnacha: spectacular! 5,500 bottles produced. Drink now-2025. Importer: Europvin SAS, CA, www.europvin.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
This is one of the most exciting projects in Montsant, launched in 2002. Behind it are names such as René Barbier, Christopher Cannan and Fernando Zamora. It has inspired by a very special wine made from a breathtaking vineyard of Garnatxa planted in 1895 in the high quality village of La Figuera at 650 m. It is by far the most expensive wine in Montsant with a retail price of almost €100. Once you have visited the vineyard you will never forget its beauty. Hand harvested, intense selection table, completely destemmed and a third grape selection. Fermented with a long maceration (four to five weeks) and aged in the same 4,000 litre conical oak vat for 14-16 months. This is not a wine for a blind tasting; you really need to know what you are tasting to be able to appreciate it properly. The wine shows a somehow static, very ripe nose, some port-like aromas, an iron character and stewed fruits. The vineyards are so old that the fragility of the wine deserves time and patience. As a sommelier I had very good experiences with this wine but I suspect when I tasted it blind at the Consejo was not the best day for it. In the mouth the tannins are delicate, the wine is light, soft and it has almost a salty profile with a bitter aftertaste. It never leaves anybody unmoved. I felt slightly sad after uncovering the bottle because I probably had not enough sensitivity to appreciate this wine. (FC)