Grapes of Spain

Roque Colas

"deep and complex...amazingly well-balanced...beautifully made wine." —

John Gilman, View from the Cellar

Appellation

Calatayud D.O.

Grape(s)

50% Garnacha, 25% Tempranillo & 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Altitude/Soil

650-700 meters / iron-rich alluvial (clay/sand) soil with abundant, large stones

Farming Methods

Certified Organic for over 20 years

Harvest

Each variety was hand harvested separately into small boxes

Production

Fermented with native yeasts, daily punchdown, 15 day maceration with skins, malolactic conversion in barrel

Aging

Varieties were aged separately for 18-22 months in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels

Wine Name

Scores

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Reviews

Roque Colas 2011

91 (IWC) 89 (RP)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
91	Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar	Inky purple. Assertive aromas of blackberry, licorice and violet, with a subtle mineral nuance in the background. Primary and sweet on the palate, with juicy cassis, blueberry, licorice and dark chocolate flavors complemented by subtle oak tones. The long finish shows building, dusty tannins and repeating notes of sweet berries and flowers.
89	The Wine Advocate	The 2011 Roque Colás pays homage to the first known family vigneron with its name and is a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. The different varieties fermented separately in 3,000-liter vats with indigenous yeasts and aged for 18 months in a mixture of French and American, used and new barriques. This is the only wine produced at the winery. It feels quite warm, no doubt the result of a dry, warm growing season. It has some lactic aromas intermixed with ripe black fruit and plenty of spices and smoke. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with plenty of grainy, slightly drying tannins, with ripe flavors. A modern, ripe, well-oaked red blend. Give it one more year in bottle. The 6,500 bottles produced. This is a small family winery created in 2010 in the village of Alhama de Aragón by the Colás family, already on the fifth generation as grape growers in the region. They have 12 hectares of vineyards, old, head-pruned Garnacha and younger Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. The annual output is 6,500 bottles. Issue 215, October 2014

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Roque Colas 2012

92 (VM) 89 (VfC)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Vinous Media	Opaque ruby. A wild, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red berries, incense and smoky minerals, with a floral nuance building in the glass. Sweet, seamless and concentrated, offering intense black raspberry and cherry liqueur flavors given spine by juicy acidity. Closes broad and very long, with smooth tannins coming in late to add gentle grip. This sexy wine was aged for 22 months in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 10% of them new. 2018 – 2022 Central Spain: Tempranillo and Beyond December 2015
89	View from the Cellar	The 2012 Roque Colás is comprised of a blend of thirty-five percent Garnacha, thirty percent Tempranillo, thirty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and five percent Merlot. The vineyards are all tended organically, with the vine age ranging from seventeen up to eighty-five years of age. The 2012 is a ripe wine, coming in at a full fifteen percent, with the wine raised in ten percent new oak, with the remainder of the casks of varying ages and predominantly French in origin. The wine is impressively well-balanced for its octane, offering up a deep and complex nose of ripe black cherries, black raspberries, dark chocolate, discreet balsamic tones, woodsmoke, chicory, a dollop of garrigue and just a touch of cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and sappy at the core, with some chewy tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, slightly warm finish. 2012 was quite the short crop and perhaps in other vintages, the octane of this very well-made wine is a bit lower. At fourteen percent alcohol, this would be utterly brilliant, but fifteen percent is a pretty heavy cross to bear. Still, this wine is pretty light on its feet for its octane. 2016-2025+? (For those who do not mind this level of alcohol, add fully four points here, as this wine is very well-made in its headier style.) Issue Sixty-One January-February 2016

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Roque Colas 2013

92 (VM) 91+ (VfC) 90 (I-WR) 90 (IWR) 90 (DAWA)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Vinous Media	Brilliant ruby. Powerfully scented red and dark berry aromas are complemented by suggestions of spicecake, incense and smoky minerals. Stains the palate with black raspberry, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors, becoming spicier and more energetic with aeration. Shows a suave blend of richness and finesse. The vibrant, very persistent finish is framed by gentle, harmonious tannins. Aged for 22 months in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 10% of them new. 2021 – 2025 Josh Raynolds - February 2021
91+	View from the Cellar	The organically-farmed vineyards for this wine range from seventeen up to eighty five years of age. The 2013 version is a touch less ripe than the buxom 2012 version, coming in at 14.5 percent, as this was a cooler and rainier summer in the region and the harvest was quite late. The wine offers up a deep and complex bouquet of black cherries, balsam boughs, dark chocolate, a beautiful swirl of garrigue, wild fennel and a dollop of spicy oak (though only ten percent of the casks are new for this bottling). On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a plush core, fine-grained, moderate tannins and great length and grip on the very suave, complex and classy finish. As I mentioned last year, this wine is amazingly well-balanced for its octane level (which is a half point lower in 2013), with virtually no signs of heat or sur maturité on the long finish. I would love to see this a touch lower in alcohol, but this is Calatayud after all, which is plenty hot, and perhaps we should just think of 14.5 percent alcohol here as we would 12.5 percent alcohol in Burgundy! In any case, this is a beautifully made wine. 2017-2035+. (and again, as was the case last year, if you are more tolerant of higher octane wines, add three points, as this is beautifully-crafted wine)
90	International Wine Review	The 2013 Roque Colas is a blend of 34% Garnacha, 39% Tempranillo, and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from organically farmed estate vineyards. Aged 22 months in French and American oak, it is a delicious fruit forward wine offering great flavor and good acidity and freshness with round tannins and good structure. "Spanish Wines of Value and Quality" - June 20, 2019
90	International Wine Report	This blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon builds in the glass with aromas of red and dark fruits with a lovely citrus edge. The silky smooth palate entices, revealing coffee grounds, mint, red currant and dark cherry flavors that sit alongside nice tension. Layered and delicious, this is already quite evolved so enjoy in the short-term. June 2018
90	Decanter Asia Wine Awards	Focused black fruits with a hint of oak and balsamic. Well balanced and structured example. Long finish. Silver Medal - Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2017

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Roque Colas 2014

93 (VM)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
93	Vinous Media	Brilliant violet. Spice-accented blackberry, cherry and allspice aromas are complicated by floral and cracked pepper nuances. Appealingly sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering juicy, concentrated red and dark berry and cola flavors and a hint of spicecake. Shows sharp focus and strong energy, and finishes very long and smooth, with well-knit tannins and a touch of candied flowers. 2022 – 2027 Josh Raynolds - February 2021

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Roque Colas 2018

90+ (VfC)

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90+	View from the Cellar	The 2018 Roque Colás bottling from Colás Viticultores is composed from a cépages of fifty percent Garnacha and twenty-five percent each of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. These vines range from twenty to fully eighty years of age, with the vines having been farmed organically now for more than two decades. The soils are the same combination of stony, clay and limestone, with some sandy sections. All three varieties undergo malo in older casks and then are aged sixteen months before blending. The wine is again fairly ripe in 2018, coming in at 14.5 percent and delivering a deep and complex nose of black cherries, cassis, garrigue, cigar smoke, meaty tones, a fine base of soil and just a touch of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with plenty of mid-palate stuffing, firm, chewy tannins, fine balance and grip and a long, focused and promising finish. This is Colás Viticultores’ flagship bottling and it is built for the cellar, but it will be a fine drink once it has shed some of its tannins with bottle age. 2028-2060. John Gilman - Issue #98 March/April 2022

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