Casa Castillo Cuvée N Monastrell is an homage to founder, Nemesio Vicente, crafted with fruit from his first planting, dating from 1981. The highest site, attested to by the cool aura of thyme, rosemary, sage and pine, further manifest as a suave ripple of tannin clad with a whiff of mocha from the used barriques in which it was handled, following a wild fermentation with partial whole bunch. There is an earthier power chord to this wine, not dissimilar to great Bandol and its kit of saddle leather, suede, terracotta and anise. This, too, received a whooping 96 points from the Wine Advocate.
The second new wine from 2015 is an homage to Nemesio Vicente, the founder of the winery, and produced with the grapes from the first Monastrell vines he planted when he took over the property in 1981, aptly called 2015 Cuvée N. The grapes come from the higher part of Las Gravas vineyard, which fermented with part full clusters and with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in used barriques for 18 months. The Cuvée N combines the ethereal character with the complexity, depth and backbone I found in the single-vineyard bottling from this very complete vintage. It doesn’t reach the finesse of the Pie Franco, but it surpasses the Las Gravas. There are notes of Mediterranean herbs with an earthy touch and the elegant rusticity the best Monastrell is capable of.
96 points, Wine Advocate (December 2017)
