My friend Greg and I like to go out on wine buying trips to find new and interesting wines then we get together with the wives and make delicious meals and drink delicious wines. We both like to cook and we both like to drink wine.
Greg really likes Spanish wines, I have not been as great a fan. But slowly he is changing my mind. Sunday night we went down to his basement to find our next wine of the evening and I liked the name and label on this 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah made in the wine region called Montsant in the province of Tarragona in South Catalonia in North East Spain.
It is a fabulous, highly rated, wine that is now available for around $12. A tremendous value. Let me tell you its story.
The wine is made at Celler de Capçanes a cooperative of 170 winemakers, the largest in Spain and perhaps the world. Mas Donis makes this special bottling called Mas Donis Barrica for the well known and fabulous wine importer Eric Solomon, www.europeancellars.com.
Both Wine Advocate and International WIne Cellar gave this wine a 90 point rating for its lush fruit and spice flavors and intense depth and complexity..
Celler de Capçanes has an interesting story. Formed in the early 1930's it was a quiet place until 1990 when they were asked to produce Kosher wines for the large Jewish population of Barcelona, the exposure to this large city attracted great interest to the 250 hectare property and in 1995 a large investment was made to completely restructure and modernize the facilities. Eric Solomon discovered the property and realized its even greater potential and launched several custom cuvee projects with Capçanes.
Here are the reviews:
90 Points - The Wine Advocate
"The purple-colored 2007 Mas Donis Barrica is a blend of 85% Garnacha (from vineyards over 80 years of age) and 15% Syrah. Aged for eight months in French and American oak, it was bottled without fining and filtration. It offers up an alluring bouquet of smoke, pencil lead, earth notes, clove, cinnamon, and black cherry. This leads to a wine with remarkable depth and concentration for its humble price, savory flavors, and a fruit-filled finish. Although it is likely to evolve for 1-2 years, there is no reason to delay gratification. "
90 Points - International Wine Cellar
"Ruby-red. Powerfully scented bouquet of raspberry, blackberry, cocoa powder and smoky minerals, with a sexy floral overtone. Lush and creamy but lively, with strong red berry flavors and supple texture. Highly alluring wine with lingering sweet notes of rose and red berries."
Learn more about Spanish Wine:
As I look back I found that we bought this wine at Shopper's Vineyard for $15 but it is available at Gary's, Joe Canal's Woodbridge ad Wine Anthology for around $12.
We enjoyed the wine with a beef and chicken liver ragout over rigatoni and roasted chicken. It was all delicious. This wine will pair well with many foods and cheeses.
Our dinner recipes came from:
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