Acústic negre 2014
Garnacha / Carignan
Priorat, a small wine growing region near Barcelona in the Northeastern corner of Spain, is well known for producing high quality powerful red wines. Monsant is another small wine region, just adjacent to priorat that is much less well known. The grapes grown are very similar in both regions, with garnacha being the predominant grape variety. Being well-known can be a good and bad thing, the downside of priorat being so well known for high quality wines is that the popularity has driven the price up. In the UK, this means most good quality priorat wines are above £20. So Montsant being its lesser known cousin, is perfect for finding some great value picks.
Today’s wine is from Acústic wines in Montsant. The winery was established in 2003 by Albert Jané. His main aim was to make wines that are faithful to the local grapes, territory and climate of the region. In addition he wanted to make wine in the traditional way, with minimal electricity, technology or modern viticulture techniques. Like priorat, the region is known for its old vines. Acústic wines has over 50 hectares of old vines of Garnacha, Carignan and other local grape varieties between 25 and 95 years old, growing at between 300 and 700m above sea level.
The Acústic negre is an organic wine composed of 30% Garnacha and 70% Carignan. The wine is aged for 11 months in French oak. The wine has a complex bouquet of blackcurrants, raspberries and some coffee. The palate is full bodied and well rounded, with flavours of dark fruit, cherries and peppery notes. The finish is long and elegant with well integrated fine grained tannins. I decanted this wine and drank over two days, on the 2nd day the tannins softened and was even more enjoyable. Therefore I’d advise decanting this wine 3-4 hours prior to drinking, if possible. This was an excellent wine, and easy to recommend at the sub £15 price range.
Score: 90
Price:
- UK: £12.55 (8Wines)
- EU: €12.10
- US: $17.50
Wine specification:
- Grape variety: 30% Garnacha 70% Carignan
- Region: Montsant, Northeastern Spain
- Vintage 2014
- Ageing: 11 months in French Oak
- Alcohol: 15%