On the recommendation of my local wine shop guy, we pulled the cork on a bottle of this Spanish wine from the Jumilla; a 50-50 blend of Monastrell and Petit Verdot.
The first thing to note is what appears to be some confusion over ÔMonastrellÕ. My original source stated, in a most assured manner, that this is the Spanish name for Mourvedre, as is cited by numerous online resources. However, Wikipedia suggests that this is actually a regional name for what in the Rioja is known as Graciano.
In either case, the wine is a deep, dark ruby color with suggestions of smoke and dark fruits on the nose, as well as an appealing earthiness. Well balanced on the palate, it has a somewhat short finish. The wine paired very nicely with a roast beef.
The Beagles rate the wine as very good to excellent, but have one caveat; with all the hype over Spanish QPR, we thought the wine too expensive at about $40 / bottle. At that price, there are numerous Rhone or Bordeaux wines that we would opt for first.