2018 Les Alcusses

They sell the red blend Alcusses a little later than other wines, so the current vintage is still the 2018 Les Alcusses, which is a wine that has more and more Monastrell and uses more 500-liter barrels and more used oak, while the French varieties have a shorter maceration, looking for less extraction. 2018 is fresher than previous years in a harvest that was quite challenging for the late-ripening varieties. The varietal breakdown is 50% Monastrell and equal parts of Garnacha Tintorera, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It achieved 13.5% alcohol and kept a pH of 3.5 after fermenting in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and maturing in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for eight months. It has abundant spicy notes intermixed with herbal and berry aromas and a medium to full body with fine-grained tannins and good balance and freshness. 88,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2021.