Here I have a new wine for you all which I discovered just last week. It was quite a pleasant surprise after various failed attempts at discovering something 'good' at a reasonable price. Although slightly more expensive than I was really looking for, at €7,50 a bottle, I'm pretty sure you can get it a little cheaper if you shop around. Nonetheless, everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed it.
San Millan is a fairly recent brand as far as wines go and only goes back 10 years or so. It is a line of wine that is produced at the Legaris cellar near Peñafiel in the Ribera del Duero region, a project by the Cordoniu Group.
It was in late 1998 that the Codorníu Group materialised its presence in the Ribera del Duero D.O. with the purchase of 90 hectares of land in the municipalities of Curiel de Duero (Valladolid) and San Martín de Rubiales (Burgos).
Just months later, in the spring of 1999, the first vineyards were planted, and in April of 2000, the construction of the future Legaris cellar was started. The first wines of the winery, harvested from selected vineyards, were Crianza and Reserva wines that were launched to the market for the first time in early 2003.
The two Legaris vineyards have been planted with Tinta Fina (Tempranillo) grapes, although it is expected that in some time, 20% of the lands will be used for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard is located at an altitude of between 700 and 850 meters above sea level in loose soil which is rich in limestone and poor in iron.
However the wine in question today was named after San Millan de la Corolla, whose monasteries are now UNESCO world heritage.
San Millan Roble 2014
The cellars state that it is
"...made with the best grapes from Ribera del Duero, hand-picked by over one thousand cherubs, San Millán is a wine from Heaven to be enjoyed on Earth”
I wouldn't go that far, but it is quite good! Especially if you drink it at around 17-18ºC which I think was just ideal.
The 2014 harvest was carried out from September 27th to October 20th. The grapes were gently destemmed and poured into tanks where they underwent alcoholic fermentation at 22-24ºC to preserve the varietal aromas.
Alcoholic fermentation and subsequent maceration lasted 10-12 days all in all. The wine then underwent malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. A gentle clarification and final filtration were carried out to refine the wine before bottling.Once completed, the wine was poured into barrels of American oak where it remained for just 3 months before bottling.
This wine is ready to be enjoyed now. But according to the cellars, it may, however, evolve favourably over the next year.
Aspect: Deep purplish red with bluish hues.
Nose: Prominent notes of fresh red fruit –which reflect the wine’s typicity- that are interlaced with notes of vanilla from its ageing in barrels.
Mouth: Rich, balanced and rounded.
Food matching: White meats, pasta, tapas and fresh cheeses.
Enjoy!
Here is a link :
https://www.elcorteingles.es/supermercado/0110118742701149-san-millan-vino-tinto-roble-do-ribera-del-duero-botella-75-cl/