The first time I came across Monastrell, I only knew it as Chef María José San Román’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Alicante. Now, I realize that she was simply celebrating the best known local wine varietal by paying homage to the grape with that moniker. And if we had to find a way to learn about the grape and the surrounding countryside of Alicante, we could not have imagined a better introduction than the one María arranged for us with a visit to Yecla and the largest winery in the area, Bodegas Castaño.
We were guests of Ramón Castaño Santa and two of his three sons, winemaker Ramón and Daniel. The Castaño family has been creating wines with monastrell grapes for four generations over vast hectares of vineyards, broken up by occasional olive orchards, in the Yecla denominación de origen. While they’ve added other varietals like garnacha tintorera, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, cabernet franc, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, it is the monastrell that shines the best and that is clearly closest to Ramón’s heart.
From little bush-sized untrained vines, planted with plenty of room to capture the incredible heat of the summer sun, the monastrell grape hung in heavy bunches just inches from ground so rocky and dry it was hard to imagine how the grapes could survive. But it was a perfect day during harvest time, so we had the unique experience of tasting the deep flavor of the fresh fruit before swirling it in a glass over lunch.
It was time to head over to a two-room restored farm building surrounded by vineyards as far as the eye could see for a simple but spectacular meal. A regional classic stew of wild rabbit, snails, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and spinach cooked to an incredible richness over an open air wood burning oven should have been the centerpiece of the feast. But for all its fabulous flavor, the real main attraction was the collection of 6 wines the Castaño family shared from the simple, single varietal 2013 Monastrell to the spectacular 2011 Casa de la Cera, the family’s flagship example of a perfect monastrell blend: 50% monastrell, 50% combination of garnacha tintorera, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot. Deep, garnet color matched with equally deep intense fruit flavor and the perfect balance of acidity and wood, even at 15% alcohol.
Tempranillo, watch out. I think we have found our first new favorite Spanish wine.
