Altos de la Hoya interesting, full-bodied wine

The Bodegas Olivares is a relatively old winery operation located in the heart of Spain in the fertile, yet quite arid, Jumilla region. While this region has traditionally been one of the domestic "bread baskets" of Spain, it started, much like every other wine-growing region, to crank out wines that were meant for export.

Altos de la Hoya 2005 from Finca Hoya de Santa Ana made by this winery is a perfect example of what Spanish wines can be. Not only are they inexpensive, they are extremely interesting and very different from anything produced in this country. Made from the rustic but forward grape varietal monastrell, this full-bodied wine should make for interesting food pairings.

Despite the strong euro, which is really killing the business for imported wines right now, this wine can be found for less than $10 per bottle.

In the glass, Altos de la Hoya is a deeply opaque and very dense blackish garnet red color with a deep saturated core going out into a velvet red rim definition with medium light viscosity.

On the nose, it jumps out of the glass with intensely peppered crushed black fruit, cranberry liqueur, jerk spices, tobacco, leather, fig bark, vanilla, oak references, earth-driven minerals and aniseed. In the mouth, the wine goes for the jugular with a full frontal attack of chewy, huge, spicy black fruit extract with a dense concentration, followed by sloe juice, huckleberry sauce, ripe black plums, earthy wild cherries, pomegranate seeds and some rustic wood components.

The mid-palate is muscular and still concentrated with licorice and earthy minerals, going into a nice finish that has well-balanced tannins with yet more black fruit and a lingering end that coats the tongue with a twist.

This wine will certainly benefit from being opened and decanted a good hour before drinking it. Try it with spicy Spanish meatballs in a sherry-tomato sauce, such as what is served at Café Ba-Ba-Reba in the Fashion Show mall. It should drink well now through 2009.

Wine: Altos de la Hoya 2005

Grape: Monastrell (100 percent)

Region: Jumilla, Spain

Vintage: 2005

Price: $9.99 per bottle

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.