Solnia, Monastrell, Spain

Tasting Note: A boorish, oaf of a monastrell that is not an elegant dinner companion.

Deep-intensity purple in color this wine has an aromatic nose of black plum, red cherry, raspberry and black currant.

The dry, full-bodied monastrell is rough on the palate with coarse, green, unripe, medium-plus tannin that leads the characterization of the wine as a whole.

There is no mid-palate complexity, and the wine is out of balance with respect to fruit and tannin.

There are certainly better to be had from Spain.

Bottle Note: Introduced to the Phoenicians to the coastal region of Alicante thousands of years ago, Monastrell grape vines now fill the arid countryside of the southeastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Only the finest grapes from the best vines are chose to produce Solnia Monastrell, a wine characterized by aromas of cherries, plums, and a hint of chocolate on a lingering finish.