La Calera del Escaramujo Monastrell 2021, Bodega Cerrón

A wine that defies expectations, La Calera del Escaramujo has the finesse, balance and concentration of Grand Cru Burgundy. With a glowing, vivid ruby colour, it has astonishing intensity and freshness of aroma: black cherry extract, almond flour, dusty cart track, molasses, liquorice and black pepper. Really, really exciting, it is vibrant and crisp, lean and mineral, yet textured, amazingly powerful and long in the mouth. Fine, precise and sustained – Amazing! Decant if you drink now, and enjoy over the next decade or longer. It comes from a 1.67 hectare ungrafted Monastrell vineyard at 900-960m elevation, which had been abandoned for 20 years due to the difficult access and the complicated work involved in cultivating its steep slope. In recognition of its outstanding potential, Juanjo and Carlos Cerdán began nursing its venerable vines back into production in 2011.