Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months)

"The wine is excellent on both the nose and palate...Like all of the wines from Porta Regia, this is an absolute steal! Very impressive juice." —
John Gilman, View from the Cellar
Appellation
Jumilla D.O.
Grape(s)
100% Monastrell, from bush vines averaging 50 years-old
Altitude/Soil
650 meters / limestone, poor in organic matter and low salinity
Farming Methods
Organic methods, not certified
Harvest
Hand harvested
Production
4-day cold soak, 10 days further maceration with skins. Malo in stainless steel
Aging
Aged for 12 months in 60% French and 40% American 2nd fill barrels
Suggested Retail Price
$21
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2014
92 (VfC) 91 (VM)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar The 2014 vintage of “Barrica 12 Meses” from Porta Regia was raised (as the name implies) for one year in one wine barrels, sixty percent of which are French in origin and forty percent of which are American oak. These are older vines than either of the above wines, with the vineyards all at least fifty years of age. The wine is excellent on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a black fruity constellation of black cherries, garrigue, a touch of cigar smoke, lovely soil tones, wild fennel, a bit of lamb (cooked on vine cuttings in the Spanish tradition) and a discreet framing of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, moderate tannins and excellent focus and grip on the long and still fairly youthful finish. This is eminently drinkable today, but it is still a puppy and will be even better with a few more years of bottle age. Like all of the wines from Porta Regia, this is an absolute steal! Very impressive juice.
91 Vinous Media (fermented in stainless steel tanks, with malolactic fermentation and a year of aging in 60 percent French and 40 percent American oak barrels, all used) Bright violet. A sexy, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, incense and vanilla. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy black currant, blueberry and cherry-vanilla flavors enlivened by a jolt of smoky minerality. Rich yet lively and precise, finishing with powerful thrust, resonating spiciness, and smooth, slow-building tannins.
Copy All Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2015
92 (VfC) 91 (VM)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 View from the Cellar This is the top of the line bottling from Porta Regia, produced from fifty year-old vines and raised in two year-old barrels (forty percent American oak and sixty percent French oak) and it is excellent in 2015. The bouquet offers up lovely depth and complexity in its constellation of dark berries, woodsmoke, hung game, a complex base of soil, cigar ash and just a touch of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and suavely tannic, with a fine core of fruit, excellent soil drive and a long, complex and perfectly balanced finish. Monastrell is a terrific grape variety and this is a first class example (not to mention a bargain)! 2018-2035.
Issue #75 – May/June 2018
91 Vinous Media Limpid ruby-red. Displays perfumed aromas of ripe red berries, cherry compote and incense, which are complemented by a floral note that builds with aeration. Seamless and nicely concentrated, offering gently sweet raspberry, cherry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors and a spicy white pepper accent. Finishes smooth and long, displaying very good clarity and supple tannins that lend a gentle grip. (aged in 60% French and 40% American oak barrels, all used)
Drink 2020-2026
Mediterranean Spain: Diversity and Consistency, April 25, 2019
Copy All Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2017
91 (VM)
Score Publication Review Copy
91 Vinous Media Deep violet. Highly perfumed aromas of spice-accented red and blue fruits, pungent flowers and spicecake, with a subtle vanilla quality in the background. Silky and seamless in texture, offering juicy cherry and blueberry flavors that deepen and turn sweeter on the back half. The blue fruit note builds on a long, smooth, velvety finish that's given shape by discreet, even tannins. 60% French and 40% American oak. 2021- 2027
Josh Raynolds - March 2021
Copy All Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2018
92 (VM) 91 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 Vinous Media Dark ruby. Spice-accented dark berries, mocha and pungent flowers on the deeply perfumed nose. Appealingly sweet black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors become livelier and pick up a hint of vanilla with air. The blue fruit and floral notes repeat on the impressively long, penetrating finish, which features polished tannins and a hint of white pepper. 2022- 2028
Josh Raynolds - March 2021
91 View from the Cellar The 2018 Monastrell “12 Meses Barrica” cuvee from Porto Regia is a lovely bottle on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet wafting from the glass in a mix of cassis, black cherries, cigar wrapper, good soil tones, a hint of mincemeat and a nice touch of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a superb core, ripe, well integrated tannins and a long, well-balanced and gently chewy finish. This too comes in at 14.5 percent octane, but the wine is cooler on the backend than the 2019 Old Vines bottling and carries its ripeness beautifully. This is an outstanding bottle of Monastrell! 2026-2045+.
John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021
Copy All Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2019
91 (OB) 89 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
91 OwenBargreen.com Sourced from Syrah vines set in limestone and clay, this reveals sour red fruits that combine with bramble and a dusting of white pepper. This is beautiful terroir. Drink 2022-2029.
Owen Bargreen - July 20, 2022
89 View from the Cellar Porto Regia’s 2019 bottling of 12 Meses Barrica is another excellent bottle of Monastrell, which is one of the most under-appreciated red varieties in Spain as far as I am concerned. This wine too comes in at 14.5 percent alcohol, but comes off nicely precise on the nose, delivering scents of red and black cherries, spiced meats, a hint of garrigue, a lovely base of soil tones, gently savory notes, bonfire and a nice foundation of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a good core of fruit, fine soil signature, modest tannins and a long, balanced and classy finish. This seems a touch lower in acidity than the 2020 “5 Meses Barrica” bottling, which takes away the nice backend lift of the former wine. But, this still has admirable depth and complexity. 2022-2040.
John Gilman - Issue #98 March/April 2022
Copy All Reviews
Porta Regia Monastrell 12 Meses (months) 2020
90+ (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
90+ View from the Cellar The 12 Meses bottling from Bodegas Sierra Norte is their old vine cuvée, as these Monastrell vines are fully fifty years of age. Though this wine is aged for twelve months in cask, it sees no new oak and is raised entirely in “two wine” barrels, with the oak origin breaking down as sixty percent French casks and forty percent American barrels. The wine also carries 14.5 percent octane in this vintage, but the fruit expressions are fresher and the wine offers up an excellent bouquet of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, dark soil tones, cigar smoke and a nice, understated touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good chassis of ripe tannin, fine balance and grip and a long, complex and promising finish. This is going to be a very good wine once it is ready to drink and is an absolute steal, as it sells here in the US for only $21 per bottle! 2031-2055+.
John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023.
Copy All Reviews

Share this wine

Rate this wine

Have you tasted this wine?
Feel free to add your notes and rating.

Delectable Cellar Tracker