GUTIÉRREZ DE LA VEGA – Monte Diva Brisado 2018

Luis Gutierréz the critic Robert Parker writes:

"The 2018 Monte Diva is a dry Moscatel Romano with 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.3. It was made from 50-year-old mountain vines on red soils, harvested fully ripe and the crushed grapes fermented with the skins in oak barrels for seven days, so it's a white or "orange" wine with skin contact. They greatly reduced the skin effect and the wine is quite different. It matured for two years in used French oak barrels. It has a spectacular nose, very different, with a salty feeling, notes reminiscent of chicken stock, of something very delicious. It doesn't really feel like an "orange" or even a Moscatel; it's full of character, personality and nuances, even developing minty notes with time in the glass. On the palate, it combines the salty and bitter notes and is very tasty and long lasting. It will be interesting to see how it ages in the bottle, especially after seeing a 1999 now.... And I'm looking forward to tasting the following vintages. 1,400 bottles were produced. It was bottled in October 2020."