Region
Spain › Valencia › Utiel-Requena › Pago Chozas Carrascal DO
Type
red · still
Grapes
Bobal, Monastrell, Grenache, Tempranillo, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Alcohol
14.5%
Volume
750 mL
Available at
Tasting Notes(1)
3.7
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Las Ocho is the largest count in the numbered range of Chozas Carrascal: eight red varieties, from the local Bobal to Merlot. It is a statement of taste as much as a number. The family says it backs the Mediterranean habit of blending over the fashion for single varieties, letting each grape bring what its year gave it.
Each variety is fermented on its own. The producer ferments below 25C with two to three weeks on the skins, depending on the grape, with two mechanical punch-downs a day and two rack-and-returns, at one and at two thirds of the fermentation. Only free-run wine goes into Las Ocho; the pressed wine is kept out.
About three quarters of it then goes into 220 litre French oak barrels and the rest stays in tank. The producer gives 14 months in barrel and a year in bottle before release. The two parts meet only at the final blend, just before bottling, and the share of each variety moves with the vintage.
The blend is also written into the law. The rules of Vino de Pago Chozas Carrascal name exactly these eight grapes for the estate's red blend and ask for at least 14 days on the skins and five months in barrel. Las Ocho's time in oak runs well past that minimum.
