A rich warming nose with hints of coffee and chocolate amongst the fruit, there is good weight and substance on the palate with great purity, well balanced tannins and a very attractive finish.
Don't be fooled by the label: this is not an old school Spanish red. This fresh (and refreshing) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Merlot is elegant, balanced and dangerous drinkable. An amazing value pour. Ines Salpico, www.decanter.com, 9th February 2022
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Castillo de Monjardin
Castillo de Monjardin is making very pure, modern wines from a mix of mostly French grape varieties.
Bodegas Castillo de Monjardin is located in the North-West of Navarra in the foothills of the Pyrenees, 20 minutes west of Pamplona. The eponymous ‘old castle’, now a ruin, sits atop the hill behind the winery and was very important in the 12th century, as a defensive fort for Navarra’s King Sancho Garces. Today it is part of the famous pilgrimage route from Paris to Santiago de Campostella, with wine available for thirsty pilgrims as they pass through.
Navarra’s proximity and historic cultural links to France provide a winemaking tradition based on Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot, distinct from the more traditional reliance on Tempranillo and Garnacha found in the rest of Spain.
In the 1980s it was Navarra more than anywhere else in Spain that pioneered modern winemaking techniques. Victor del Villar, with his wife Sonia Olano, established his vineyards and winery at this time, around his home village of Villamayor de Monjardin.
The expanding business now has their son, also Victor, at the helm. Spending three years at University College, Dublin gave Victor a grasp of English which made stints at Californian and Australian wineries much more valuable. Skills and techniques learnt there are now producing clean, pure modern wines at Castillo de Monjardin.
A wet first half of the 2020 vintage meant a lot of work in the vineyard was needed but a better more consistent second half resulted in some juicy young wines with those ageing in barrel looking very promising. A very good year, 2019 had warm dry conditions but yields were limited by a tricky flowering period. A cooler and wetter year than other recent vintages has endowed the wines of 2018 with greater freshness and lower alcohols. Across the country the wines are showing good aromatics, plenty of weight, and a juicy fresh character. Growers had a complex year in 2017 having to contend with frost, hail and drought. Yields are down as a result, but the picture overall is of good quality particularly in Galicia and the South, Penedès also performed well. The 2016 vintage was pretty good on the whole with Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Rueda having excellent results. 2015 was heralded as the best vintage across Spain in recent years, and particularly so in the north. 2014 saw some good wines made with a little rain in the second half of harvest and low yields. This came after the potentially great 2013 vintage which has given fresh, vibrant, robust wines. The 2012 harvest was also very good, a dry year but yields were low. The run of good to excellent quality goes right back to 2002, with 2011 being an early harvest in good conditions. 2010 was a cooler year, which has delivered a more elegant style of wine – top Riojas are outstanding. 2009 was a warm year with a big harvest of excellent grapes.
Don't be fooled by the label: this is not an old school Spanish red. This fresh (and refreshing) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Merlot is elegant, balanced and dangerous drinkable. An amazing value pour. Ines Salpico, www.decanter.com, 9th February 2022
Usually delivered the next working day (on orders placed before 1pm on a working day).
Please note, whilst the majority of parcels sent on this service are received next day, this is not guaranteed.
£14.50 Per Delivery Address
£5 On Orders Over £120
We always do our very best to achieve our stated delivery times but please note we can not be responsible for circumstances beyond Tanners control including, but not limited to, adverse weather conditions and supplier and carrier difficulties.
Delivery to other areas - additional charges
For deliveries to the Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the main Scottish Islands deliveries are charged at a fixed price of £15 for the first case (up to 12 x 75cl) and £10 for each subsequent case. Rates are calculated automatically at the checkout.
You should allow up to an additional 5 working days over standard delivery for delivery to these areas.
You will appreciate that stock positions are subject to continual change in a multi-channel business. Very occasionally, an item may be out of stock that the website has allowed you to order. We will attempt to contact you to discuss an alternative. In the event that we cannot reach you, to ensure a timely delivery, we will substitute with a similar item of equal or higher value (at no additional cost), unless requested not to do so in your order's delivery instructions.
Returns
If you don't like any wine that you buy from us, for whatever reason, return it within a month of purchase and we shall refund your money without question or delay. Please telephone on 01743 234455 or contact us