92 Points: "The 2015 Solanera used to wear the ultimate Spanglish label, which said "Viñas Viejas of Monastrell" even if it was always a blend (in this vintage, the blend includes 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Garnacha Tintorera). The revamped 2015 has a completely different label that only keeps the "viñas
viejas" moniker. In this wine, from the joint venture with U.S. importer Eric Solomon that started in 1999, they used part of full clusters and sourced the grapes from Casa Marta, a nine-hectare, head-pruned, dry-farmed plot on very stony soils in the north of Yecla at the foot of the Mount Arabí. It fermented in concrete vats and open-top barrels and matured in barrique, each variety separately, for some ten months, after which it was blended and bottled. This is the vintage of the big change in this wine, where, as with the majority of its siblings, more integrated oak, more freshness and better balance. The nose is quite captivating, especially after some time in the glass, when it starts developing some floral aromas, perfect ripeness, no warmth or alcohol and a powerful, yet terribly balanced palate with concentration and elegance, fine-grained tannins and clean, focused flavors. This is my favorite Solanera to date. Drink: 2018 - 2021" – Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (December 2017)
92 Points: "Another project between Eric Solomon and Jean-Marc Lafage, the 2015 Solanera Vinas Viejas is fresh and lively, with ripe, sexy notes of blueberry and blackberry fruits intermixed with more subtle notes of violets, graphite and white pepper. Possessing full-bodied richness, a seamless texture, and gorgeous purity of fruit, it’s another terrific vintage for this
cuvée that’s ideal for drinking over the coming 2-4 years. The blend is 2014 is 65% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Garnacha, all aged 10 months in 80% French and 20% American oak. Drink: 2018 - 2022" – Jeb Dunnuck (February 2018)
FROM THE IMPORTER
The Castaño family are the original pioneers of the DO Yecla. Starting in the 1950s Ramón Cantaño Santa, with an extensive family history of viticulture,
built the first modern winery in the region and over the successive decades he added to his family’s holdings so now the estate encompasses 450 hectares of primarily old, bush vine Monastrell. Starting in the 1980s the family began bottling wines under their own name continuing to innovate and improve the reputation of Monastrell from Yecla in domestic and export markets. Before this time, the majority of the wine made in the region was sold off in bulk so much of the best, old-vine material was blended away before anyone could take note of its quality.
The wines selected by European Cellars are primarily sourced from the northern part of the DO where the soils are poorer, rockier and the elevation is higher. The vine age ranges from 30 to over a hundred years old. At the foot of Monte Arabi, the Castaño family tends some of the oldest vines planted in the sun drenched DO of Yecla. Under the supervision of Eric Solomon and Jean-Marc Lafage, Solanera
is a blend of Monastrell (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), and Tintorera (15%) which is aged in oak for 10 months. Richly flavored with dark fruit and spices, Solanera captures the warmth and generosity of this rural part of Spain.
APPELLATION: Yecla
VARIETY: Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Tintorera
AGE OF VINES: 40-100
FARMING: Sustainable with organic practices
SOIL: Clay limestone
ALTITUDE: 800-900 meters
FERMENTATION: Hand harvested, each variety fermented separately in stainless steel tanks
AGING: 10 months in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels
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