Bodegas La Purisima - Old Vines Expression 2017

Del Duero Wines, 90 pts

"Aromas include dark cherries, dark plums, strawberries, nectarines, and dark chocolate. Flavors include dark cherries, blackberries, dark plums, and a hint of blood orange. There is a medium to full body, perfect balance and acidity, and a rich, refreshing, and minerally full finish.Food pairings would include filet mignon, New York Steak, short ribs, beef stew, lamb, grilled and roast veal, pork, and chicken, pork shoulder, BBQ ribs, jambalaya, salmon, tuna, clams, mussels, seafood pasta, pasta with meat sauce, lasagna, Asian and Mexican beef, pork, and chicken dishes, lamb curries, spicy red curries, Indian Tandoori dishes, charcuterie, and rich, hard, and medium cheeses."

The Yecla region, in southeast Spain just slightly inland from Valencia, is known for its very expressive Monastrell grapes.  For those not familiar with Monastrell, that is the original Spanish name for what is better known as Mourvedre which is part of the "GSM" blends from the Southern Rhone.  The Yecla Monastrell, however, has even deeper flavors from the rocky soils and harsh growing conditions of the region (if there was a PETA-like organization focusing on grape vines, they would head first to Yecla!).

The harsh growing conditions are a factor of the elevation of the vineyards (ranging between 1,500 feet and 3,000 feet above sea level), very rocky "soils" with very low amounts of organic material, and the unrelenting summer sun in this region of Spain.  The overall combination results in very concentrated flavors from the grapes grown each year which then produce wines with character, color, and intense flavors. 

As mentioned above, although Mourvedre is more widely known as a grape of the Southern Rhone, Monastrell is actually an indigenous grape of the Yecla/Valencia region.  The quality and power of the varietal had been first mentioned in the viticultural history of the region as early as 1500.  The better known name of Mourvedre is from the one of the original vineyard areas in which the grape emerged which was the "Camp de Morvedre" (Field of Morvedre).  As a very old indigenous grape of the region, however, Monastrell is uniquely suited for the very difficult growing conditions in the area. La Purisima is also the "good guy" in town given that 60 percent of Yecla wine production is controlled by just two other producers.