Description
Bandol has long been considered the most famous and historically significant region for Mourvèdre. But travel south along the coast to Spain's southeast edge and you'll find Jumilla, where siblings Carlos, Juanjo, and Lucía Cerdán of Bodega Cerrón are making some of the most compelling, old-vine Mourvèdre anywhere in the world.
Here, Mourvèdre is called Monastrell, and in the high summer heat these drought-stressed vines produce riper, more robust fruit, softer acidity, and more warmth on the palate than their French counterparts.
Unlike most producers in Jumilla however, Bodega Cerrón doesn't source from low-lying sites. Instead, they focus on vineyards stretching up to 1000m in elevation with calcareous, flinty soils, pulling Monastrell away from jammy warmth toward tension and minerality.
“The 2021 Los Yesares is truly spectacular, floral and fresh…the palate is clean, precise and focused, laser cut with purity of flavors…like a ballerina, light on their feet but with muscle and no fat” [WA, 95pts]
Stunning now, and with the bones to cellar for at least a decade, this is Monastrell in full, elegant stride.