"It is richly fruited and engaging on the nose showing dark berry, cedar, thyme, game and barnyard characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and intensity, wonderfully supported by fine texture and supple mouthfeel, and firmly structured by chalky tannins, finishing long and sturdy. At its best: now to 2024" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2019

Deep-coloured with a cherry-brick rim, this finely balanced Reserva red wine offers a complex nose of wild raspberries, stewed plums, and exotic spices with enticing vanilla notes. Rich and vibrant on the palate with great depth and a lingering smooth finish. A fabulous blend of 50% Monastrell, 30% Garnacha Tintorera 20% Tempranillo.

“El Abuelo” means “The Grandfather”. This is the fourth generation of the Piqueras family to have overseen the property since it was established in 1915 in Almansa, south-east Spain, (100 kilometres inland from Valencia) and the Mediterranean Sea. The region is characterized by its low rainfall and poor, low-fertility limestone soils which are organically and sustainably farmed (Certified Ecológico) at 700-950m above sea level. The wines are incredibly intense and represent fantastic value and are exported to over 40 countries around the world.

The wines is a complex blend of the powerful indigenous variety Monastrell (Mourvedre) and local regional specialty Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet), a ‘teinturier’ grape variety with dark purple flesh as well as dark skins is sought out by wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs for its amazing colour intensity, supplemented by Spain’s most well-known variety Tempranillo. 45-65-year-old dry-farmed, trellised and bush vines from the best vineyard plots are harvested from the beginning of September (Tempranillo) to the end of October (Monastrell) with a hand-selection of the ripest bunches at the winery.

Each variety is macerated and fermented separately during three to four weeks at moderately low temperatures 27-28 °C to preserve fruit intensity. The young wine of each variety is racked several times to remove the heaviest lees and then stored in stainless steel tanks for 8-10 months to soften tannins prior to blending the various varieties and ageing the wine for 12 months in 300 litre fine grain medium-toasted American oak casks. The wine is then bottled after undergoing gentle filtration and aged for a minimum of 12 months in bottle prior to release.

Food Pairing: It will match well with red meats dishes of all kinds, especially game birds and grilled meat. Approachable enough to drink young it has the power and concentration to age 5-8 years.