Hacienda Monasterio 2022

Robert Parker
The 2022 Hacienda Monasterio is a blend of 86% Tinto Fino, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec. They only got 170 liters of rain and suffered five heat waves—what happens in Ribera is accentuated at the Monasterio estate—but they were able to manage it quite well. Since 2018, they have been harvesting earlier, in early September, because they have managed to achieve ripeness a little earlier, and it shows in the wine, which has 14.5% alcohol on the label (perhaps a little lower in the real analysis, but they need to round up to half a degree on the labels). The skins were thick, so the vinification was softer to avoid too much extraction. They also did a longer aging in barrel; it's usually 15 to 17 months, depending on the lot, but this year, the average was 17 months and it helped. In contrast, they did a shorter élevage in 2023, because it was what the wine called for. The nose is harmonious and shows no heat or excess ripeness (or oak), and the palate is silky with surprisingly ripe and round tannins, escaping the excess grip I found in many 2022s in the zone. 199,200 bottles produced in total, including some 10,000 magnums. It was bottled in July 2024.

Hacienda Monasterio blev grundlagt i begyndelsen af 1990’erne, da den danske vinmager Peter Sisseck ankom til Ribera del Duero og sammen med Carlos de la Fuente skabte et moderne vinkoncept i det historiske landskab mellem Pesquera og Valbuena de Duero.

Ejendommen dækker omkring 160–170 hektar, hvoraf ca. 78–108 hektar er beplantet med vinmarker. Hoveddruen er Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), suppleret med mindre parcel af Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot og Malbec. Vinmarkerne ligger i sydvendte skråninger med kalkholdig skifer og kvarts – jordbund, som bidrager til vinens finesse og mineraldrevne rygrad.

Vinkælderen blev opført 1991–92 af arkitekten Philippe Maziéres og kombinerer moderne teknologi med naturlige faciliteter: temperaturkontrollerede tanke, rustfri stål og fadlagerrum med naturgrusgulv og analytiske kontrolsystemer. Gæringen foregår med spontane gærceller, og vinene modnes i franske fade med begrænset andel ny eg – altid med respekt for frugt og terroir.