Robert Parker : 91pts
DO – Jumilla
Grapes
80% Monastrell
10% Syrah
10% Garnacha
Tasting Notes
Casa Castillo’s 2008 Las Gravas, sourced from a single vineyard of the same name, is made up of 70% Monastrell, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Syrah aged for 16 months in new 500-liter French oak. It gives up an alluring bouquet of Asian spices, sandalwood, underbrush, blueberry, and blackberry leading to a full-bodied, intense, layered offering with exceptional volume and length. It can be approached now but will evolve for several more years.
-by Robert Parker
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This wine is a blend of the varieties (monastrell, syrah, garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon) from the vineyard Las Gravas, the percentage of each variety depends on the year, although the monastrell is always over the 50 % of the wine. The fermentation is in small underground stone tanks with frequent manual pigegage, under controlled temperatures. Malolactic fermentation takes places entirely in barrel, aging at least 16 months in new French oak barrels; the wines are blended after the oak aging. Bottled unfiltered.