Los Frailes Dolomitas 2016 Monastrell 750ml

Part of their new range of "old style" wines, the 2016 Dolomitas is a pure Monastrell from a sloped vineyard on shallow soils at the foot of the Dolomite Mountains. This new range ferments in old lagar with indigenous yeasts (in this case, half of the volume fermented in stainless steel) and the élevage is in ancient concrete vats and amphorae for ten months. There is great purity and character in these new "old" wines, with a serious and somehow austere profile, and the wines welcome air (both the Monastrell and Garnacha Tintorera tend to close down in bottle). With air this becomes higher pitched than the Caliza, with notes of balsam and aromatic herbs, and there is a little more refinement in the tannins. This is a very interesting, geeky range, almost experimental. But these kind of wines always bring some changes in the larger production wines.

Score: 91+ points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2017