Finca Mónica Reserva launches with 2015 vintage
After the relaunch earlier this year of the Finca Mónica range – named one of the most interesting launches of 2019 by Meininger’s Wine Business International – Long Wines has just added a Reserva wine to its exclusive range of Rioja wines.
Sharing the classic design of the rest of the range, which celebrates the role of women in winemaking throughout history, the Reserva label – designed by leading Spanish label designer, Pablo Guerrero – is printed on premium Grape Touch paper made of 15% grape waste sourced from wine production.
Produced from 100% Tempranillo grapes from the winery’s own vineyards on the slopes of the Yerga mountain, an area that is becoming better known outside the region for the exceptional quality of its wines, it was aged for 18 months in a mixture of French and American oak barrels (50:50), adding complex notes of spice, vanilla and toasted coconut to the wine’s intense aromas of berry fruit.
The 2015 vintage was classified as “very good” by the Regulatory Council and stood out for being one of the earliest in history, with almost all the grapes collected by the 12th October. The red wines showed intense fruit and the Consejo highlighted their “excellent freshness, elegance and ageing capacity.”
Winemaker Gorka Etxebarria was also impressed by the wine’s potential for ageing, stating that “Its freshness, oak ageing and high extraction guarantee a longevity of at least ten years after harvest.”
In 2018, almost 30% of red wine exports from the Rioja region were of wines in the Reserva category, a total of 25 million litres, the second biggest category in export after “generic” unoaked wines.