Dark ruby-purple color; delightful flowers, red fruit on the nose; nicely integrated fruit—75% bobal, 9% garnacha, 8% merlot, 7% syrah, 1% cabernet sauvignon—delivers plum, blackberry, chocolate; smooth, easy drinker, fine tannin, superb oak, good acidity. Delicious wine, great price.
Mustiguillo Vineyards & Winery makes this from a single plot—El Terrerazo—near Valencia. The effort stands out because bobal is the dominant grape instead of playing its typical role as a complementary grape or use in cheap jug wines. When winemaker Toni Sarrion began his assumed quixotic bobal experiment in 1999, many thought it a fool’s errand. Sarrion and Bogdegas Mustiguillo clearly have proven skeptics wrong; El Terrerazo gained DOP (Protected Denomination of Origin) status in 2010. The vineyard is organically farmed. Each variety is vinified separately and there are four weeks of malolactic fermentation, giving this tasty pour its soft, plushness in the mouth. $14-16
Second photo: Bodegas Mustiguillo
Third photo: Harvested fruit in the vineyard
