Castillo de Monseran Garnacha 2019 (12-Pack)

You may or may not remember that there was a relatively dark period of winemaking (and a lot else) following the Spanish Civil War and dictatorial government following. Vineyards became stuck in suspended animation and winemakers left in complete isolation from the advances over the 20th century.

When the Spanish wine world finally emerged from relative darkness, they had a completely unique recipe to make some of the best and most affordable wines in the world. Robert Parker, Jr. – as usual – summed it up pretty succinctly.

“Look for Spain to continue to soar. Today it is emerging as a leader in wine quality and creativity, combining the finest characteristics of tradition with a modern and progressive winemaking philosophy. Spain, just coming out of a long period of cooperative winemaking that valued quantity over quality, has begun to recognize that it possesses many old-vine vineyards with almost unlimited potential.”

Chateauneuf-du-Pape owes its prized Grenache to the grape’s original homeland – Castillo de Monseran and that’s where today’s historic Garnacha originates. When I tasted the wine, I enjoyed it so much and the price was so reasonable, I took a full pallet.