“Monstruosa”, a monster of a grape,
a remarkable wine!
Without any doubt, our most refined tasting table during the spring tasting was that of José Luis Mateo from the small top estate Quinta da Muradella.
He almost never leaves his estate and it had been more than 10 years since he last came to Belgium. In the end, and with quite some stress, he only arrived on Saturday evening and was therefore present only on Sunday. With his 1.60 m height, he almost disappeared behind his bottles.
Moreover, he has a very introverted personality and you really need to draw him out to talk about his wines.
He is a constant perfectionist and only releases his wines when they are truly ready. Every two years, we get the opportunity to buy a small allocation.
At the beginning of this year, the moment finally came again and we were able to secure his cuvées. He usually keeps his wines at the estate for a long time (sometimes over 10 years) and creates a different cuvée each year.
With an annual production of 20,000 to 40,000 bottles and more than 15 different wines, you can imagine how limited each one is.
We are always very pleased with these purchases and I am personally always very curious when tasting these new vintages and cuvées for the first time.
And honestly: this year is the highest level I have ever tasted. Both whites and reds. Everything was outstanding, with impressive ageing potential and complexity.
Minerality, complexity, finesse are for me the three key elements in all his wines.
In a tasting line-up, these elegant wines can be overshadowed by other big names. It is better to taste them separately, one by one, in a proper glass, with attention. The wines become even better that way.
Today I would like to highlight one wine for you. Probably the most distinctive and unique. Monstruosa is the name of a grape variety that he has brought back.
The first “Monstruosa” was produced in 2012, then again in 2015 and now the latest in 2021.
He gave it this name because the grapes are significantly larger than other varieties. Hence “Monstruosa”. Quite fitting, if you ask me. A name with the right amount of drama 😉.
Here’s what Parker said about that first 2012 :
“I've only heard José Luis talking about this grape, and for sure his is the only varietal wine produced on earth. The 2012 Monstruosa de Monterrei produced with this unusual, obscure white grape called Monstruosa.”
There is no other winemaker producing wine from this grape. Only José Luis brought Monstruosa back. In 2021, just over 1,000 bottles were produced, of which 180 for Belgium! Half of these were already sold during our tasting.
The 2021 is also the best of the three vintages:
94/100 R.Parker:
“The white 2021 Monstruosa de Monterrei was produced from this rare variety that he replanted 21 years ago...