Gordo Yecla Monastrell Cabernet Sauvignon

A fabulous value from Patrick Mata, the 2012 Gordo is a blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from an organic vineyard planted in 1970. Aged three months in French oak, it showcases the brilliant quality of the Mourvèdre grape from this sunny appellation. The wine boasts an opaque ruby/purple color along with notes of lead pencil shavings, blackberries, black raspberries and a hint of blueberries. The sensational fruit characteristics are pure as well as vivid. This full-bodied, opulent, stunningly savory, expansively flavored 2012 can be drunk over the next 2-3 years.

An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes candied red fruits, Asian spices and black pepper, with a smoky topnote. Sappy, concentrated black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors gain sweetness with air and pick up notes of cola and clove. Finishes chewy and long, with slow-building tannins and lingering sweetness.