Sangenís i Vaqué - Clos Monlleó 1999

Dark ruby color with pronounced garnet rim, but nearly no rim variation. Looks like a wine 1/10th its age in terms of color. Racy red cherries with an underpinning of dark fruit, fig, tar, very pronounced black licorice, anise, chewy cumin notes, overall very dark and slatey mineral profile with dried rose petals and potpourri. Hot and spicy on the palate, very leathery, licorice quite dominant and while there are flecks of dark primary fruit it in, the wine seems a bit blown out and lacking in acidity with the alcohol running roughshod over the wine at this point. Very different style from a very different point in the region’s history.