Luzon Verde Jumilla Monastrell, 2010

The last Luzon Verde I had was the 2005. The wine cost about $6 and had a very unpretentious label--a simple drawing of bugs buzzing through green weeds. The wine was fantastic, and I had an immediate urge to go back and buy several cases. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember where I bought it, and every clue I followed led to a dead end: the wine apparently was no longer brought into the country.

Finally, nearly five years later, Luzon Verde appears on the shelf of my local supermarket, D&W Markets in Kalamazoo. It has the same weedy label (and the Verde, I understand, indicates that the wine is produced from organically grown fruit). Beside it on the shelf is the non-organic version in a flashier black label. Both sell for $8.99. Will they be as good as the 2005 that grabbed me in 2008? Probably so.

Luzon Verde 2010 Jumilla Monastrell is impressively deep, dark and bluish when it's poured. This is young Mourvedre (known in Spain as Monastrell). And there is absolutely nothing green about this wine except its label. It smells thick and tannic, like a barrel sample. The young Mourvedre is gasping for air, but as it gets it, it unfolds like a flower--violets, lavender, black fruits. Now some black pepper and spice emerge. Now some ripe blueberries and plums. With time and air, it loses some of the furry tannins and becomes ripe and smooth on the palate. Yes, this is a wine to buy in quantity and sample frequently over the next two to three years and maybe longer.