Good breeding, vintage makes Onix Classic a winner

Onix Classic is from the celebrated and nearly legendary 2005 vintage, which is considered one of the finest of the past 50 years in Spain. In fact, 2005 can be said to be the greatest universal vintage in modern history.

This wine comes from Priorat, which is the most sizzling hot winemaking region in Spain. It is a series of steep hillsides and valleys, with vines often more than 100 years of age planted on extreme slopes. At the highest elevations, about 2,700 feet, there are old vines imported from the south of France, where they are called grenache and carignane.

The wines made from Priorat are distinctive, showing incredible purity and concentration. In addition, the norm in Priorat is to produce wines from very small yields, further adding to this concentration.

Onix Classic is priced right, too, at less than $10.

In the glass, Onix Classic is a deep ruby-red color with a dense, opaque core going out into a fine, slightly tinged crimson-red rim definition with high viscosity.

On the complex nose, there are layers of crushed black plum fruit; great freshness from eucalyptuslike herbal notes; meaty, fleshy elderberry juice character; earthy, slightly spicy black cherry; and crushed stone minerals, with undertones of tar, gunpowder and licorice root.

On the palate, it offers concentrated freshly crushed black cherries, black plum skins, black licorice, blackberry liqueur, beef jerky, crème de cassis, and notes of roasted meats and smoked bacon. The midpalate is one of the most extracted for a wine in this price category, with yet more black licorice and cherry fruit, going into a well-balanced, structured finish that lasts for a good 25-plus seconds on the after-mouth, with just a hint of mint and herbs.

This is a superb-value fruit-driven wine and quite unlike anything else out there, which makes it infinitely attractive and desirable. It is a baby now, but does drink well after about 30 minutes out of the bottle. It should age nicely for another five to seven years, and needs something serious in the food department, such as beef pot stew.

Wine: Onix Classic

Grape: Garnacha (50 percent), carinena (50 percent)

Vintage: 2005

Region: Priorat, Spain

Price: $9.99

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.