The nose of the 2020 Dulce Monastrell has the textbook descriptors for this sweet wine: tomato vine, black olives and Mediterranean herbs, really unmistakable. It's a modern take on the traditional sweet wines from the zone and was produced from un-grafted, 55-year-old Monastrell harvested in early November, with slightly overripe grapes. The grapes go through a long maceration in cement vats, over 30 days, and fermented partially with indigenous yeasts and then fortified to 16% alcohol. It is bottled unoaked with no less than 260 grams of sugar. It's dense, thick and full-bodied, sweet and with enough tannins to evolve in bottle and go with strong cheeses and chocolate desserts. 27,000 half-liter bottles were produced. It was bottled in February 2023.

I just love the expressive nose of tomato vine, Mediterranean herbs and black olive of the 2017 Dulce Monastrell, a sweet fortified red I had already tasted and which seems to be evolving at a glacial pace. It has the tannin and structure of the dry red wines from the region, balanced by some 230 grams of acidity and fortified to 16% alcohol. The tannins and alcohol make the wine come through as balanced and not as sweet as you might imagine given the amount of sugar it has. This is bottled unoaked and matured exclusively in bottle. It's the Mediterranean alternative to a young Ruby Port. 31,000 half-liter bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2018. Delicious.

The textbook-sweet fortified Monastrell 2016 Dulce Monastrell has an unmistakable nose of black olives and sun-dried tomatoes, with the structure and tannin provided by the old vines. It has 200 grams of sugar and 16% alcohol, which seems to be a good balance here. To maintain the purity, this fermented in concrete and was bottled unoaked a few months after the harvest. 31,000 50-centiliter bottles were produced. The price is for a half-liter. It was bottled in June 2017.

I've been waiting for a while to taste their sweet red. This time, I sampled the 2013 Dulce Monastrell, a wine that started the category of sweet Monastrell in Spain. They do long macerations in concrete vats, and the fermentation with indigenous yeasts is stopped, thus adding alcohol. It's bottled with 16% alcohol and 200 grams of sugar. The wine was bottled in June 2014, and they have been waiting to released it, as the wine is aged in bottle. It doesn't even see any oak. The nose is immediately recognizable as Olivares, with the signature aromas of sun-dried tomatoes and black olives intermixed with thyme, lavender and rosemary. The palate is juicy, soft and lush, with good balance between acidity and sweetness. 31,000 bottles produced.

The 2011 Dulce Monastrell was bottled at 16% alcohol with 195 grams of residual sugar. Produced with fruit from ungrafted, 50-year-old Monastrell vines that were hand-harvested in late October/early November, the wine starts fermenting with indigenous yeast and fortified to stop fermentation. It's bottled completely unoaked the June after the harvest and aged for two years in bottle before being sold. It has a complex nose of black olives, tomato vine and balsamic herbs. The palate is sweet but keeps fluid and while it could do with a little more freshness it has enough acidity. Quite pleasant. 30,000 bottles. The price given is for half a liter.