The elegant rusticity of an old-vine Monastrell is very evident in the 2013 Alfynal, a truly Mediterranean red combining power with balance, with plenty of concentration and tannins and a long life ahead of it. In the cooler 2013 vintage, they aged the wine for 13 months in 225- and 400-liter oak barrels, 25% of them new. The nose revealed textbook aromas of esparto grass, tree bark, aromatic herbs and ripe berries. The palate had abundant, dusty tannins, with an earthy sensation and a balsamic finish where the flavors linger in your mouth. 8,400 bottles produced.

The grand vin is another story. The 2012 Alfynal is pure old-vine Monastrell from dry-farmed (literally!) vines, which in a dry and warm vintage like 2012, produced concentrated but balanced wines—saved by the rain in the end of September that helped the plants to complete the end of the cycle. It followed a classical vinification and élevage in barrique that lasted some 14 months. It has textbook aromas of the Mediterranean grape, mixing notes of esparto grass, other Mediterranean herbs, ripe blackberries and wet chalk, a little dusty, rustic but with elegance. The palate shows power and intense flavors reminiscent of the notes found in the nose. It ends very tasty and long. This is a great Monastrell. 7,800 bottles were filled in October 2014.

Old-vine Monastrell, one of the passions of Bruno Prats, is the source of this 2011 Alfynal, sourced from different plots ranging from 35 to 70 years of age and located at variable altitudes, from 500 to 720 meters high. After a traditional fermentation using gravity in stainless-steel vats, the wine matured for 14 months in 225- and 400-liter oak barrels with frequent rackings. It has a serious nose denoting a ripe vintage and the telltale Monastrell aromas of tree bark and esparto grass intermixed with notes of beef blood, ripe blackberries and Mediterranean herbs. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with sophisticated, polished tannins denoting seriously good work in the winery and an intensity of the old-vine fruit that gives serious, well-defined flavors within the ripe personality of the vintage. This is one of my favorite Mediterranean Monastrells. 9,360 bottles were produced.

The 2010 Alfynal is pure Monastrell from very old vineyards, different plots ranging from 35 to 70 years of age located between 500 and 700 meters above sea level with very low yields. It has a beautiful nose of smoke, blackberries, star anise and well-integrated, fine-grained tannins, very supple. It has the balance and harmony of great wines. It improves with time in the glass; it has very good acidity, while the fruit is properly ripe. This is a very serious effort, elegant and rustic at the same time, which is a textbook example of great Monastrell. 9,700 bottles produced. Drink 2014-2022. As the name points out, this is a new project from ex-Cos d’Estournel, Bruno Prats. As Prats told me when I had the chance to meet him in Alicante a few weeks ago, he had had a fixation with Monastrell since he was studying oenology at Montpellier in 1967, where he used to listen to Professor Jean Brana rave about the quality and potential of the old Monastrell vineyards of Alicante, where the variety originates. He had looked into possibilities before, but in 2008 he returned to Alicante searching for space for his boat. At the same time, young French winemaker Stephane Point, who had been working in the Chryseia project in Portugal, was ready to move to a Spanish-speaking country. The two joined forces and Point moved to Alicante with his family to produce the wines in early 2009. They hired some space in a winery, brought their own equipment there and managed to make 15,000 bottles of wine in the 2009 vintage. They do not own any vineyards, but source grapes from different suppliers. The grapes are destalked after passing through a selection table, and everything, grapes, must and wine are moved exclusively by gravity. Fermentation is by plot, in small stainless steel tanks with temperature control, and the upbringing is mostly in used 400-liter French oak barrels for 12 to 14 months. The name of the grand vin, (as a good Bordeaux guy he also has a second wine) Alfynal, is a promise to his wife that this would be his final project, as he’s already in joint-ventures in Chile, Portugal and South Africa. I found the 2010s very compact and assembled, especially for Mosyca. 2010 was more Mediterranean for Stephane, everything was easier, and the assemblage works well with the four grapes. Importer: HP Selection LLC, New York, NY; no telephone number available.