In the last Mourvèdre Monday post, I reviewed the Lorca 2006 Monastrell from Bodegas del Rosario. I wasn’t planning on doing this Lorca 2008 back-to-back with the last, but our dinner of chorizo, shrimp, olives and rice made me want to go to Spain with my wine choice, and this is the last Spanish Monastrell I had on hand. As you may recall, the 2006 did not leave me with high hopes for this one, but I pulled the cork and hoped for the best.

Lorca Monastrell 2008

Producer: Bodegas del Rosario

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (same grape as Mourvèdre, for newcomers). The 2006 had 30% Syrah.

Appellation: Bullas (D.O. Spain)

Vineyards: From youngish (10-20 years), dry-farmed vines at altitudes ranging from 550 to 1060 meters. The soil is clay, sand and limestone.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation and 8 months in 2-year-old French and American oak

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $9 or $10 at Costco

My tasting notes: Sticking my nose in the glass, I get the sense of walking the aisles at a hardware store. I start in Aisle 1 with the paint thinner and other solvents. Aisle 2 is the loose nails and bolts. Aisle 3 for some lumber. Oh look, they’ve got cherry Tic Tacs at the checkout. On the palate it’s light with the same sort of dusty red fruit as the 2006 bottling, still without much pop. It disappears very quickly at the end. A very flat experience.

Overall impression: Once again, the Lorca is not fun to drink. Please don’t make this your first Monastrell if you’ve never had one. Try this one or this one or this one instead. C-

Free association:

Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman via Flickr