El Sequé 2021

Crítica

2021 > 93+ puntos
The 2021 El Sequé was produced with ripe Monastrell grapes that achieved 14.7% alcohol from organically farmed vineyards at 600 meters in altitude in Alicante on sandy and clay soils. The wine matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for six months, down from 12 montes in the past. They are very happy with the result of the 2021 vintage; the wine is very ripe but has lots of freshness. It's serious and fruit-driven, with ripeness but without hints of over-ripeness. 60,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2022.
2020 > 94+ puntos
The just-bottled 2020 El Sequé shows harmonious, subtle and elegant, clean and precise, with superb balance and freshness. This is a great interpretation of Monastrell, a grape they feel they have understood much better in the last few years. They are using grapes from different soils in different zones, and they feel this might have added complexity to the wine. Even if young and very recently bottled, the wine feels harmonious and long. It should develop nicely in bottle. There are 50,000 bottles of this. It was bottled in November 2021.
2019 > 93 puntos
The 2019 El Sequé was produced with ripe Monastrell grapes (14.7% alcohol) from organically farmed vineyards at 600 meters in altitude in Alicante on sandy and clay soils. The wine matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 12 months. It's a classical Mediterranean vintage with ripe fruit and notes of aromatic herbs, varietal with some notes of tree bark and an earthy minerality. It's juicy and has fine tannins, a little more rustic than the 2020. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2020.
2018 > 94 puntos
The only wine I tasted from the winery in Alicante from Artadi was the red 2018 El Sequé, as the 2017 weather didn't allow them to produce the sweet wine. This is pure Monastrell from organically farmed vines at 600 meters in altitude on sandy and clay soils. The wine went through malolactic and aged for 12 months in 500-liter French oak barrels. It was a very difficult year with lots of rain, which decimated the yields. The wine is finer, more delicate, less Mediterranean with more fruit and quite approachable. It's certainly lighter than your average Mediterranean Monastrell, quite ethereal. It has very good freshness and very fine tannins. It has very clean and focused flavors with very good freshness. I like this vintage very much, but it was at the cost of production. In 2018, they only produced 20,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2020.