From €4.36, $10.92, £7.79, 10.10 Swiss francs, AU$15.90, HK$124 etc
This very accomplished wine made by the energetic Telmo Rodriguez of Remelluri estate in Rioja must be made in vast quantities (96,000 bottles
according to the producer) to judge from its worldwide distribution. But it is a wonderfully inexpensive expression of the Mourvèdre of Bandol in its homeland, the Mediterranean coast of Spain, where it is called Monastrell. Some Alicante reds can be a bit heavy and ponderous but this one – at 13.5% alcohol – actually manages to taste fresh and cool and finishes appetisingly dry.
It's made from bushvines grown at reasonable elevation and finishes attractively dry. It certainly isn't a special-occasion wine but I think it would be difficult not to like it as a particularly fresh-fruited, artisanal house red to enjoy with a wide range of red-wine foods. The sandy loams on which the vines grow produce open, easy-to-like wines, made from hand-picked grapes fermented with ambient yeasts and aged in concrete and tank at the Salvador Poveda winery.
In the UK, Adnams were the first to import the wines made all over Spain by Telmo Rodriguez but I see that Berry Bros have also taken them on, and they are available from a huge range of retailers all over the world. You can find out more about this stylish operation at www.telmorodriguez.com on which the moody picture on the left (presumably taken in north west Spain far from Alicante) dominates the home page. I have never had a disappointing wine from him and have enjoyed many superior ones.
