Bruto 2016

The 2016 Monastrell from this joint venture between the Gil family of Jumilla, actor Imanol Arias and film director Jorge Martínez is very different from the 2015 that I tasted next to it. This is not a shy wine—it is 16% alcohol and had an élevage of almost two years in new oak barrels, which is not that different from the other joint venture of the Gil family with Australian winemaker Chris Ringland, El Nido. It has spicy and smoky notes, but they use less toasted barrels than in the past. 2016 was a more challenging year than 2015, but the result here is quite good. It's a powerful and concentrated Monastrell with plenty of everything. 13,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2018.