Wine Facts for La Aldea
Grape Varietal: Monastrell (known as Mourvèdre outside Spain)
Vintage: 2007
Country: Spain
Region:Jumilla
Producer: Casa don Ventura, through Casaventura Imports
Price: $8.99
Place of Purchase: Vintage Wines, Harrisonburg, VA
Additional facts: Mourvèdre grapes are usually blended with other grapes, especially to make grenache. The grape itself ripens very late, but ripening is helped by proximity to a large body of water or by heavy months of rainfall.
Oh, we found a grape and maybe a bit of a stem inside the bottle....kinda weird!!
Characteristics of La Aldea
Appearance:very dark purple-burgandy
Bouquet: pungent and somewhat alcoholy(?) but oddly flat; really no fruit to brighten the smell
Adam's Overall Thoughts:
I first had this with pork fried rice topped with hot mustard. That pairing made the wine enjoyable; it worked with the spiciness of the meal. Tasting it by itself was a different matter. I wouldn't consider this a stand-alone wine; it wasn't that great to sip minus the food. With food, though, it stood up well; it soothed some of the heat and didn't overpower any of the flavor, probably because it doesn't have much of its own.
Cathy's Overall Thoughts: This scored high on wine charts, but I guess that just proves that I will never be a wine master! :) I didn't have the hot mustard part of Adam's meal, so I really didn't get any spice to see if it held up well. For me, it was fairly flat and unobtrusive. When I swallow it, it doesn't jazz any additional taste buds. Although it has a deep rich color (and I love deep, dark reds), it made me wish there was more of a punch and more pizzazz to its flavor. Pretty basic; not much backbone.
On my scale, it's a 6.74.
We paired with: sushi, fried rice, and chicken satay
We recommend this: with Asian dishes....or not at all!
Cheers!
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