El Sequé 2021 1500ml Magnum

The El Sequé 2021 is a balsamic-toned red wine from the highlands of Pinoso, densely built yet still lively. Dark fruit and wild herbs carry a body whose tannins turn out ripe and silky. The Magnum format gives this vintage additional ageing potential.

The vines stand in four zones around Pinoso on the western edge of DO Alicante, at 600 to 650 metres of altitude. The soils are sandy clay over a limestone subsoil, low in clay and organic matter. Daytime temperatures climb above 40 °C, while at night they drop below 15 °C. This swing of up to 25 degrees preserves acidity and aromatics while allowing the grapes to reach full physiological ripeness.

The base is the native Monastrell (Mourvèdre), complemented by Syrah, from bush vines aged 50 to 65 years. The oldest vines date back to the late 1950s and grow on their own roots: the sandy soils give phylloxera no foothold. Winemaker Vicente Milla works with a restrained hand. Hand harvesting and sorting, a cold maceration of 24 to 48 hours, fermentation in open stainless-steel tanks with punching down twice a day. After malolactic fermentation, twelve months follow in 500-litre French oak barrels, which keep the wood subtle.

With braised lamb ragout with rosemary, with hearty braised beef dishes and with roast wild boar. A mature, spicy hard cheese also suits the wine's structure and spice.

Juan Carlos López de Lacalle, head of the Rioja winery Artadi, founded El Sequé in 1999 together with local Monastrell grower Agapito Rico, acquiring 40 hectares of old bush vines. In 2017, Wine-Searcher named the 2014 vintage the "World's Best Value Wine".