OK, we admit that Monastrell is not our favorite variety of red wine; even when it is part of a blend we tend to shy away. Still, I bought this wine as part of my last case because Gary Vaynerchuk said it was good, and sometimes that’s good enough for us to give a new wine a try. Plus I always try to add something into a case that will stretch our wine boundaries. I found it interesting to note that it has recently been found that Monastrell is no longer believed to be the same as the French Mourvèdre grape. I quote from Wikipedia, December 17, 2007: “Monastrell was believed to be a Spanish synonym for Mourvèdre, but DNA fingerprinting has shown that Monastrell is in fact the Graciano of Rioja. Considerable confusion has resulted.”
ON THE NOSE:
Yeah, this is a Monatsrell, with a typical sour cherry nose and a pungent chemical overtone. This one has some nice vanilla and a slight cream aroma, sort of like a Pinot Noir, but besides these pleasantries the nose is not very enjoyable to us; ick! I’m so happy that Darcey agrees with me on this wine variety!
ON THE PALATE:
Although this Monastrell does get better with time, it ultimately lets us down, and Darcey even gets a bit annoyed that I would try yet another Monastrell after us not liking any we have tried in the past. It is too sour, basically, for our tastes, and this one cannot escape that “cheap” wine flavor profile. For us this is a major pass, and on this our tastes do indeed diverge from Gary Vaynerchuk. Simply not pleasant, not complex, and not worth the money, in our opinion. To be fair this variety is simply not our cup of tea! EVEN STILL, either this bottle was spoiled a little (I don't think it was, though) or else it is simply not a very good wine; we think the latter. Maybe it's just us!
(Click here for an explanation of our ratings ...)
Our Rating: 70
Would we drink it again? 
No way, José, I'd rather drink piss.
Would we buy it again?
Nope!
