Wonderful

Seriously solid bottle of wine here!! Was looking forward to trying this as I have found the La Casona bottling to be as good as it gets for under $10. Dark ruby in the glass, the nose is loaded with blackberry, tar, and slight herbaceous notes. On the palate, the herbal notes (black tea, garrigue) start to become more pronounced, though in very pleasant manner. The acidity keeps this fresh, while the tannins have some grip. This one could be laid down for a couple years if you wanted, but it's a beautiful wine right now and an amazing value. Will be buying many more! Tasted December 2012.

Wow I really like this wine. I am drinking the 2011 but it is not in the list. Amazing value. This will be a staple in my cellar.

I've been told by my reliable Vintages guy that this is the "little sister" to the former Hécula that I loved so much.
Well, I guess I just fell in love with the little sister. A "Heck Ya" of a buy (sorry, I couldn't resist) for under $12.
Enough tannins to make me happy, and the monastrell fruit is prominent.

It started with a sour cherry taste, but with a little time the sourness declined and the rich taste came through. Nice finish too. This is a very good wine, especially for the price.

Whoa indeed! Lots of depth here, bordering on astonishing for under $12. The nose is full of toasty, herbal character with a core of rich dark berry and prune. The palate delivers too with great structure, balance and finish. A nice sipper and well made for food. Tasted March 2013.

Sits cherry red in the glass. Notes of meat, vanilla, cherry, blueberry, and chocolate. light to medium bodied with mouth watering acidity, earthyness and good structure. Heat on the lengthy finish reflects the higher alcohol. The complexity and quality in this sub $12.00 mourvedre offering from Spain is easily equal to or better than many wines twice its price. Grip it n' sip it!. March 2013.

The 2009 Bodegas Castaño Hécula Monastrell, aged in oak for 6 months, is a medium bodied, fruity wine, with intense aromas of fresh dates, cranberry and oak. It has a nice food friendly acidity, refined tannins (decant for 15 min) and a medium to long finish. It is good to drink now or can be cellared for the next 5 years - it has en evolution potential of +1 pt; as aforementioned, this is a food friendly wine. My impression: NICE, 89 pts - used to cost $15, for this price buy-by-a-case before they are all gone. Tasted Dec/12.

See my wine recommendations readily available at the LCBO here:

http://grapeselections.com/grapeselections

or here @
http://www.winealign.com/wino/dantrcka/recommended-wines-you-can-still-buy

This is full bodied and tannic. It's a great value.

Loaded with rustic ripe fruit, herbs, and hints of meat. Firm and full-bodied, with very good length. At $12, a great choice for a house wine if you are so inclined. Nice recommendation by the WA crew. Tasted March 2013.

The vintage currently available in the LCBO is 2011. I can say that it is extraordinarily mediocre. There are far better Spanish wines for $5 more per bottle. The 2011 is quite bad, at least now...maybe they'll be drinkable in 2017 but I doubt it.