Tarima Hill Monastrell – Full of Flavor • Reverse Wine Snob®

A $12 highly recommended Costco pick, the Tarima Hill Monastrell from Bodegas Volver.

Monastrell from 50-90 year old vines in Alicante, Valencia, Spain. The wine is aged for 14 months in primarily new as well as some used French oak Bordelaise and Burgundy barrels. It has 3.2 g/L of residual sugar.

The wine has an SRP of $17 and an average wine-searcher price of $17 as well but we grabbed it at Costco for just $11.99. It is imported by Winebow and 10,000 cases were made.

From the bottle:

The passion fruit flower was chosen as the winery’s emblem because its intricate details and mesmerizing qualities mirror our wines and winemaking techniques. Monastrell grapes are hand harvested from small plots of low yielding old vines scattered across the hills of the Sierra de la Sima in the heart of Alicante. The wine exhibits deep garnet color with flashes of violet and a bouquet of dark red cherries and leather. On the palate the wine achieves its full potential, offering notes of black berries, plums and licorice with an elegant but persistent finish.

15% Alcohol

The 2016 Tarima Hill Monastrell begins with a very pleasing aroma of berry fruit, a little spice and a little cedar plus touches of vanilla, chocolate and more.

Tasting the wine reveals lots of super ripe and juicy berry fruit that tastes sweet but it’s not. It also features well integrated touches of spice and plenty of acidity. It’s a bit on the simple side but full of flavor.

It ends dry and quite long with some savory balsamic notes under the fruit. Delicious!