2014 Casa Castillo Pie Franco RP--94

Robert Parker: 94 Points
2014 was a really tough harvest, and many vineyards never fully ripened in Jumilla. Casa Castillo managed to produce 4,650 bottles from their eight hectares of ungrafted (pie franco) Monastrell vineyards and release a very good 2014 Pie Franco. As all the wines here, it fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in well-seasoned oak barrels for some 18 months. This is always a subtle and elegant Monastrell, without the rusticity the grape can sometimes show, with a perfumed nose of violets and rose petals, bright red cherries and plenty of Mediterranean herbs and spices and something akin to tea leaves. The palate is also extremely elegant, silky and delicate, with very good freshness and acidity. This is a real triumph over the conditions of the vintage and shows how a great vineyard behaves brilliantly in warm, cool, wet or dry vintages and delivers very reliable wines. I tasted the wine before and just after bottling and it didn't seem to suffer by the operation, which is quite remarkable. I followed the bottle for a few days and I uncorked some past vintages for comparisons and I have no doubt. This is an exceptional effort for the vintage.