1997 Crianza

Planting started on this estate in 1990, but, in the words of current winemaker Peter Sisseck, the soil wasn't prepared properly and the wrong rootstocks were used. Nearly a quarter-million plants were then grafted over the next two years. The 1991 vintage was lousy, said Sisseck, and then '92 and '93 were generally bad years for the region. Hacienda Monasterio was near bankruptcy by the time of the '94 harvest and thus was unable to capitalize on the high quality of that vintage. But the '95s and '96s are another matter entirely: these very rich, high-alcohol wines, according to Sisseck, "aim to combine the complexity of Vega Sicilia with the shorter barrel aging approach of Pesquera, but with our own touch, including the use of French oak." More than one local insider suggested to me that today Hacienda Monasterio wines are an affordable way to enjoy the winemaking skills of Sisseck, whose cult wine, Pingus, is unaffordable and virtually unobtainable.x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D The 52 producing hectares of vines feature 60% tempranillo, 20% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot and 5% malbec. The wines receive an extended cold maceration prior to fermentation, under a layer of "nitrogen snow"-the same system used by Chateau Charmail in the Northern Medoc. They are typically moved into barrels (one-third new) by Christmas, after the malolactic fermentations have finished, where they age for 20 months. The thin staves of the French barrels, says Sisseck, help to round out the tannins. Hacienda Monasterio makes a grand vin and a second wine. The latter is sold in Spain as crianza while the wine sold as crianza in export markets is actually the estate's top bottling. As if that weren't confusing enough, a bit of the grand vin is sold in Spain as reserva