2020 Casa Castillo "La Tendida" Monastrell-Garnacha Jumilla

"The 2020 La Tendida is a new wine from 85% Monastrell from younger vines in the paraje (lieu-dit) La Tendida within the property and 15% Garnacha from seven-year-old plants on a north-facing slope on sandy limestone soils covered in gravel in 2020. Here, they changed the concept, prioritizing location of the vines instead of age, so they used younger vines but from better soils. So, this is a different wine from the Vino de Finca, and some of the old vines that had been used for the Vino de Finca go back to the basic Monastrell instead of coming here. Like most wines in this pure Mediterranean vintage, it fermented with 25% to 30% full clusters and indigenous yeast in underground stone pools with a short to medium maceration and temperatures up to 32 degrees Celsius. The wine spent 12 months in a combination of 500-liter barrels and 5,000-liter oak vats. Most wines in 2020 are around 14.5% alcohol and have a medium pH of 3.55 and mellow acidity (4.85 grams, measured in tartaric acid per liter). It's young and tender but more elegant, subtle but nuanced and very precise. The wine is medium-bodied, the tannins are very fine and there is a sensation of fragility but with energy and strength, a red with light. Very Casa Castillo. (LG) 93+

Nuanced and elegant. These are two words that are not typically associated with the Varietal, except those are the first that jumped to my mind. It is vibrantly colored and aromatic, again challenging the expectation for a varietal that is best known for adding color and tannin to blends or for the brooding reds of Bandol. There is nothing in this wine that speaks of power, it is elegant and supple. It could be the percentage of Garnacha in the blend, but this is 85% Monastrell. The tannins are sleek, there is enough acid to give tension but not an edge and persisting berry fruit. There is a fine minerality that appears on the long finish, which is surprising to find in a wine at this price point. This is a Rhone blend, but it speaks more to the elegant expressions of Cote Rote than to anything from the Southern Rhone, not to mention most other wines from Jumilla. Casa Castilla has been redefining that region’s potential for the last two decades and this wine is a marvelous example.