Intense ruby red in color, this wine offers strong aromas of ripe fruit. On the palate, it is complex and elegant -- showing a satin texture with fine tannins and flavors of leather. The long finish offers notes of licorice. Ideal with any type of meat, especially game. It is a very elegant wine, which enhances stews and dishes with fatty fish like salmon and tuna. Bodegas Montecillo was founded by Celestino Navajas in 1874 in the town of Fuenmayor in Spain's Rioja Alta region, the major and most traditional winemaking region in Spain. Thanks to the expertise that his son Alejandro acquired in France, the bodega was one of the first to adapt Bordeaux winemaking techniques to Spanish grapes, earning the reputation and prestige that it still enjoys today. In 1973, Bodegas Montecillo was acquired by Osborne y Cía. Osborne has continued the unique quality and traditions of the winery, including aging the wines exclusively in French oak barrels, which are handmade at the winery's own cooperage, and the use of 100% Tempranillo grapes for its red wines. Montecillo also boasts one of the most well-known female winemakers in Spain, Maria Martinez Sierra, who consistently produces fine wines year after year.