Marques Moral Crianza Valdepenas 2014

SALE!

Morambro Creek Cabernet is 100 percent Cabernet

Deep purple in color. A rich elegant nose of cassis with overtones of vanilla and coffee. Lush, ripe palate dominated by black fruits, cherry and chocolate. Full bodied with savory, integrated fruit tannins and persistent finish.

Winemaking at Morambro Creek is very traditional and labour intensive. Oak maturation takes place using 35% new French barrels. This blend was put together using select barrels from our family  estate that best demonstrate the intensity of our fruit balanced by integrated oak.

Total Acidity: 6.6 g/L 
pH: 3.49 

  Review:

"From the small Padthaway region three hours' drive east of Adelaide, this is a full-bodied Cab that, despite the region's warm climate, avoids being bombastic. The nose feels Christmasy: baking spices laced with purple beets, dried mint and red berries. In the mouth it's ripe and generous, and there's a fair bit of oak showing but all is held at bay by taut, fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2025."
- Wine Enthusiast (January 2020), 90 pts

"Layers of mint, tobacco and cassis unfold on the nose of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon. Mature and ready to drink, this medium to full-bodied wine is a fine example of Padthaway's (and the larger Limestone Coast region's) potential for Bordeaux varieties. Silky, savory and dry, it displays fine lines despite its heft, with bright acids and a lingering finish. - Joe Czerwinski"

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #253, February 2021), 90 pts

"Bright ruby. Spice-accented cherry and floral qualities on the nose, along with a hint of dark chocolate. In a juicy, forward style, offering bitter cherry and cassis flavors that show good depth and spicy lift. Easygoing tannins frame a long, smooth finish that echoes the floral note."

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (September 2022), 90 pts

Dark ruby color. Aromas of cherry, currant, vanilla bean and hint of tar. Full-bodied, with flavors of cherries, cocoa powder and oak. A touch of sweetness on entry with a little bit of air with soft tannins that are starting to integrate well.

The latest step in the project is Vinsacro (formerly Valsacro) Dioro. The earlier Valsacros were made from a field selection of the older vineyards. Now, thanks to the new facility Amador has been able to build an upmarket version of Vinsacro (formerly Valsacro) with a four-stage selection process that includes an initial field selection of the fruit followed by a second table selection as the grapes come into the winery. After fermentation wine from selected tanks is transferred to new French oak barrels for 12-14 months of barrel age. Finally, the best barrels are set aside for Dioro and the remainder used to "upgrade" the normal Vinsacro.

Vinsacro Dioro is a blend of grapes from 100+ year old "vidau" vineyards where many varieties were planted together in the same plot.

Today the grapes are harvested and vinified separately. The final blend depends on the vintage but typically it's Tempranillo (50%), Garnacha (20%) and remaining 30% is a mix of mainly Graciano (10%) & Mazuelo (10%) with a little of Monastrell (5%) & Bobal (5%).

Review:

"The top of the range is the 2015 Vinsacro Dioro, a wine that is only produced in excellent vintages. It's a blend of 40% Vidau (the old field blend) plus 45% Tempranillo and 15% Mazuelo, from a slope in the south of the Monte Yerga called Cuesta la Reina, from a big, 120-hectare plot that has been with the Escudero family for generations. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel with a long maceration. It matured in new French (70%) and American oak barrels for 18 months. It's still very young and a little shy, with a reticent nose where the lactic and spicy aromas are intermixed with earthy and dark fruit aromas. The palate is full-bodied but perfectly balanced, compact, powerful and serious, with abundant tannins, extract and clout. This should develop nicely in bottle, given its stuffing and balance. An excellent, modern version of a classical Rioja. 20,000 bottles were filled in June 2017. - Luis Gutierrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #235, February 2018), 92 pts

"(sourced from a 100+ year old plot of mixed varieties; aged in new and used French oak barrels for 14 months) Deep, bright-rimmed ruby. Ripe black and blue fruits on the expansive, spice- and smoke-accented nose, along with suggestions of vanilla, candied flowers and cola. The oak qualities recede quickly on the palate, which displays sappy, deeply concentrated boysenberry, black raspberry and spicecake flavors that show a suave blend of richness and energy. Supple tannins build steadily on the penetrating finish, which leaves cherry-cola and baking spice notes behind. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (February 2019), 93 pts

"I loved the 2015 Vinsacro Dioro Rioja, and this beauty is 50% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 10% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, and the balance Mourvèdre and Bobal, all of which spent 12-14 months in French oak. It boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as smoking good notes of black currants, dried herbs, licorice, and background oak. Medium to full-bodied, seamless, and layered on the palate, with terrific fruit and impeccable balance, I suspect it will shine for over a decade."

- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 93 pts