4 MONOS Sierra de Gredos Tinto 'GR10' 2023

Grape Varietal: Garnacha (Grenache), Cariñena & Syrah

Country: Spain

Region: Sierra de Gredos, Vinos de Madrid

The Wine: 4 Monos — four monkeys — takes its name from the four friends who founded the project in 2009 after meeting while hiking in the Gredos mountains, 80 kilometers west of Madrid. Winemaker Javier Garcia and partner Laura Robles farm 10 hectares of organic old bush vines on decomposed granite at 700 to 960 meters, with a mandate of minimal intervention, early picking, and mountain transparency. GR10 is named for the long-distance hiking trail linking Lisbon to Valencia that passes through the winery's vineyard villages. The 2023 is roughly 88% Garnacha from 30- to 85-year-old vines with Cariñena and Syrah, cold macerated 50% whole-cluster and 50% destemmed, wild-yeast fermented for 30 to 40 days, and raised nine months in used barrels.

The 2023 GR10 Tinto is a crystalline, high-altitude Garnacha with the translucency and lift that only granite and elevation can produce. It opens with aromas of fresh blueberry, crushed violet, and dried herbs, lifted by a pencil-shaving minerality and a cool breath of mountain air. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and juicy, with fine-grained tannin, bright acidity, and a finish that is clean, dry, and lightly smoky — serious in structure without a trace of weight.

Pairing: Jamón ibérico sliced thin at room temperature, grilled lamb chops with nothing but salt and charcoal, a plate of aged Manchego with quince paste, or an early evening on a stone terrace outside Madrid with olives, good bread, and the bottle already halfway gone.