The 2005 Alto Moncayo Garnacha from Campo de Borja is a stellar example of super-concentrated Garnacha at its finest. The region is one of the most arid in all of Spain and the vineyards here are mainly planted with Granacha. The Campo de Borja DO is leading the revolution in the modernization of powerful, fruit-forward world-class Spanish wines. This highly acclaimed Moncayo project is a joint venture of Bodegas Borsao, importer Jorge Ordonez, and Grateful Palate owner and bon vivant Dan Philips and Australian winemaker extraordinaire Chris Ringland.

Alto Moncayo Garnacha—sourced from vines that are between 30 and 100 years old—made its debut to widespread critical acclaim with the 2002 vintage and it has gained an impressive following from critics and wine lovers alike with subsequent vintages. The 2004 received 94 points in The Wine Advocate, and we find the 2005 more supple and seamless than the beefier 2004. But make no mistake, each is a powerhouse of ripe fruit, taken in the direction of the respective vintage. We expect rave reviews for the 2005 when they are published at the end of February.

A dense, dark purple in the glass with a nose of rich raspberries, black cherries, dried orange peel, a dusting of black chocolate, and blackberry syrup. This is a massive red with an impressive concentration of red and black fruit flavors, multifaceted mineral notes and accents of sweet tar and licorice. Warm wood (the wine sees a year in new French Oak) and powerful tannins and understated acidity hold this dazzling flavor-bomb in place. Impressive and full of surprises this wine needs to aerate in the decanter for at least a half an hour before drinking. We recommend serving it with veal stew, braised short ribs, leg of lamb, or char-broiled steaks. Grab it now before the reviews come out!

—Donald