Casa Castillo El Molar Jumilla 2023
£22.95
The wine
Elegant, fresh and vibrant, with cherries, plums, violets and Mediterranean herbs.
El Molar comes from sandy soils, which give a lighter, more perfumed Monastrell than the estate stonier sites. Jumilla is high, dry and hot in the south-east of Spain, and Monastrell — Mourvèdre in France — is the grape that handles it, needing more heat than any other Rhône variety to ripen fully. The region sandy soils spared many vineyards from phylloxera, so ungrafted old bush vines survive here in quantity.
The producer
Casa Castillo
View all Casa Castillo winesHigh on the limestone slopes of Jumilla, in the sun-baked interior of Murcia, Casa Castillo is one of Spain's great champions of Monastrell. This is old-vine country, where gnarled bush vines endure fierce heat and drought to give reds of extraordinary depth and character. It is a landscape as unforgiving as it is beautiful.
The estate's treasure is a plot of ungrafted, pre-phylloxera Monastrell planted in deep sand, the source of the legendary Pie Franco. Alongside it sit old-vine Garnacha and a range of characterful, age-worthy reds, each grown on the estate's stony hillsides.
Pure, powerful and astonishing value, these are among the finest wines of southern Spain. They combine southern warmth with a savoury, mineral freshness that sets them apart.
Decant the top wines and serve at cool room temperature, and taste the heat and stone of Jumilla.
