2006 Bodegas Purisma "Trapio" Monastrell

Today started by bringing the suck. I popped part of an old filling out of a tooth yesterday morning so I spent an hour this morning getting it re-filled. Ironically, I broke the old filling flossing. My dentist joking said "yeah, that's how we keep you coming back!" So my tooth was throbbing for most of the afternoon. But that didn't stop me from making a nice dinner for the fam and myself. I battled a driving rainstorm to perfectly grill a flat iron steak and topped it with charmoula sauce. Sides were couscous from a box (yeah, sue me) and oven-roasted asparagus with Parmesan.

The wine I chose was the 2006 Bodegas Purisma Trapio Monastrell, Yecla. What an interesting wine. My first experience with this wine was back in the spring of 2011 when the retail store I was working for offered this as a wine of the month selection. At the time I thought it was backwards and unforgiving. But I saw the promise with a few years of age and the appropriate food. When the owners of the retail store closed up shop a few months ago for another opportunity in Colorado, I jumped on a few of these at a nice discount. And I'm very glad that I did as it has blossomed into a gorgeous wine.

Tonight's bottle boasts a saturated, cloudy garnet color that hasn't faded over the past two years. There's definitely no filtration going on here. The sweet black cherry, worn leather and licorice notes are bolstered by a delicious earthiness, a chalky texture and dry carob flavors. Beautifully balanced throughout with the fruit, tannins and acid all complementing one another. I would imagine this will continue to improve over the next few years.

When I purchased this wine, it was being distributed by one of the larger wholesalers. But it has recently been added to the Amphora portfolio. I'm very happy to be representing this wine in Kansas now and I hope that gives me the opportunity to continue to sample it for the foreseeable future. And yes, 2006 is the current vintage. Retails in the $25 range.