4 Monos Viticultores Aguja del Fraile Sierra de Gredos, Madrid, Spain

四只猴子酒莊修士之針塞拉德格雷多斯紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：735

I only tasted the 2020 Aguja del Fraile because there is not a single bottle of the 2019 in their cellar. This is their village red that contains around 5% Cari?ena that fermented together with the Garnacha using full clusters and a longer maceration of 54 days. They also added some new plots in the paraje of La Isilla in this bottling. It has 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.29 coupled with 6.35 grams of acidity. This 2020 fermented in an oak vat (it used to be stainless steel and plastic bins in the past), and that seems to have given it an extra dimension. There's more fruit and an earthy character, and it has the Italian tannins from Cadalso. It's more structured than the wines from Cenicientos, wines that develop very nicely in bottle. This is seriously built, with an electric freshness. 2,880 bottles and six magnums were filled in June 2022.

The 2018 Aguja del Fraile achieved very good ripeness with a long cycle, good yields and perfect and homogeneous fruit. The grapes ripened thoroughly, and the wine has more alcohol (14.5%) and structure while keeping very good freshness and even more acidity. This is very complete—it's round, juicy, lush and powerful but also elegant and subtle. It matured in 500- and 600-liter oak barrels until April 2020. It was then kept in concrete until it was bottled in June 2020. As with many wines here, this seems to be their finest vintage to date. This is Javier García's favorite wine from the vintage. 3,900 bottles produced.

The 2017 Aguja del Fraile is Garnacha with perhaps 5% Cari?ena from the village of Cadalso de los Vidrios, produced with grapes from four different plots located at 850 to 880 meters in altitude, as they think that (depending on the vintage) the wines below 750-800 meters tend to be more similar and don't reflect the verticality and speed of the higher-altitude places. 2017 was a weird vintage, with frost, hail, heat and more hail at the end of August. It was their earliest harvest ever, and they got low yields. These grapes were picked at the end of August and early September, and they had to sort and select the grapes. It fermented with full clusters with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak barrels for 15 months. This is harmonious and elegant and does not give any sensation of high ripeness or alcohol; it feels aromatic and floral, with a complete palate that is juicy and has abundant, chalky, granite-infused tannins. I think this is every bit as good as the 2016—and better than the other two village bottlings. 2,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2019.

A new village red from Cadalso de los Vidrios, the 2016 Aguja del Fraile is produced with grapes from four different plots located at 850 to 880 meters in altitude, where they feel the wines are more fragrant and expressive. It's mostly Garnacha with perhaps 5% Cari?ena, a moderate 13.5% alcohol and good acidity after fermenting with full clusters and natural yeasts and aging in oak barrels for some 15 months. It's fragrant, open and expressive and has great tension, showing the freshness of the higher altitude vineyards, keeping the Cadalso fruit. It has a very hedonistic profile but with a sharp and vertical palate. Great debut for this bottling. 1,870 bottles were filled in January 2018.

There are a couple of entry-level wines, one white and one red, sold exclusively in the US, starting with the white 2015 Sierra de Gredos (which will be renamed to GR10 from 2016). This is a blend of 60% Albillo Real with some 25% Moscatel and 15% other white grapes in search of a lighter wine than a pure Albillo Real. The grapes come from vineyards ranging between 25 and 90 years of age in the villages of Cadalso de los Vidrios and San Martín de Valdeiglesias, in the province of Madrid. The full clusters had a cold soak of six hours, were softly pressed and the juice fermented with natural yeasts in barriques and stainless steel tanks. It matured in 300-liter oak barrels for six months. There are aromas of dried flowers and straw, intermixed with some white fruit; it's not marked by the Moscatel, because it was harvested quite early. The palate is balanced and combines power and elegance. It's funny how the warmer vintages tend to produce fresher wines in Gredos. Only 754 bottles were filled in July 2016.