Alto Moncayo Garnacha

winemaker's notes:
\"The estate's mid-level effort is the fairly priced Alto Moncayo. This wine is spectacular, and represents the perfect foil for grilled steak. Even richer, fuller, and more muscular than the 2003, with riveting intensity and palate staining extract, the 2004 Alto Moncayo is inky/purple, full-bodied, and rich. This pedal-to-the-metal offering should age handsomely for a decade.\"
-Wine Advocate

Region Description

Originally from Spain, this grape comes in both red-wine and white-wine varieties and is often associated with France’s southern Rhone Valley. The Grenache grape does well in hot, dry regions, and its strong stalk makes it well suited for windy conditions. It ripens with very high sugar levels and can produce wines with high alcohol content. Grenache wines are sweet, fruity, and very low in tannins. They are usually lacking in color, except in growing areas where yields are low. In Spain Grenache is widely planted in Navarra as well as in many of the hotter areas of the country. In southern France Grenache is widely cultivated in the areas around Languedoc- RoussillonRousellon, Provence, and the southern Rhone. It is also extensively grown in Algeria, Australia, Corsica, Israel, Morocco, Sardinia and California's central valley. Red Grenache wines are usually blended with other varieties: trempranillo in Spain and cinsaut and carignan in France. It’s the primary grape in chateauneuf-du-pape as well as in several rose wines.