Bodegas Casa Castillo, Pie Franco, 2020
Bodegas Casa Castillo, Pie Franco, 2020
- Red Still
- Organic
- Garnacha, Monastrell
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There are a number of exciting projects currently down in the hills of Murcia, none more so than Casa Castillo, who are now responsible for some of Spain’s most venerable reds, as the ever increasing praise from Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez would suggest – with the Pie Franco 2020 having scored a perfect 100 points, now is the time to give these Monastrell masterpieces a try.
Casa Castillo has come a long way in the 30 years since José María Vincente and his father took their vineyards back from the tenant farmers, and made their first wines. Now they are considered among the best in Spain, credited by Luis Gutiérrez in ‘The New Vignerons’, his book highlighting the most exciting winemakers in Spain today, as having: “Changed the perception of both Jumilla and Monastrell”. Casa Castillo have harnessed the essence of the Sierra del Molar at over 700 metre above sea level, with a serious focus on a savoury, mineral energy – vines are ungrafted, everything is completely organic, the last new barrel they bought was in 2008 and a good proportion of the fermentation takes place in 100 year old concrete lagares, view a view to influence the natural expression of the fruit as little as possible.
Pie Franco uses the estates oldest, most gnarled Monastrell (Mourvedre in France) vines to create a deep, concentrated red that shows amazing freshness and precision from a vineyard is that was planted over 75 years ago, a truly totemic standard for modern Jumilla
Gutiérrez describes 2020 as “an exceptional vintage the finest they have ever produced” for Casa Castillo in his recent Wine Advocate report
What the critics say:
"I had tasted the 2020 Pie Franco during its upbringing in barrel and couldn't wait to taste the bottled version. The wine comes from the ungrafted Monastrell vines planted in 1942 by the current generation's grandfather on a south-facing slope rich in limestone and gravels. In this dream vintage, they achieved a wine with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.47 and almost five grams of tartaric acid per liter of wine. The wine matured in 500-liter oak barrels for 16 months. There is precision; it's like laser cut, with symmetry and nuance, and it feels ethereal with lots of inner strength. It has the aromatic herbal notes but they are a lot subtler, and the wine is a lot more elegant and floral. The 2020s are wines of texture, silky, fine and elegant. This is the essence of the Mediterranean. Truly outstanding, world class, the best wine produced in the Mediterranean and the best wine from Casa Castillo ever. I was trying to find reminiscences with previous vintages, and it's different from 2017 and 2018, maybe a mixture of the two, but overall the 2020s are unique and have a combination of Mediterranean character and freshness more intense than any other previous vintage. José María Vicente told me the only vintage that could be compared a little with the 2020 could be 2010. I've seen this wine evolve every year since the initial vintage of 1998 to reach world class. Bravo! 7,800 bottles were filled in February 2022."
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Bodegas Casa Castillo
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