1996 Monasterio Reserva

(compared to the bodega's regular wine, this contains a slightly higher percentage of cabernet sauvignon and was aged in a bit more new oak) Full medium ruby. Suave aromas of black raspberry, roasted game and Christmas cake. A lush wine with compelling baby fat, but also possesses very firm underlying backbone. Perhaps a bit less expressive in the middle palate than the last bottle I tasted of the regular '96, but has a superb layered texture and a very long, ripely tannic back end.