Casa Castillo - Jumilla 'Pie Franco' 2019

Depending on whom you consult, the Pie Franco from Casa Castillo is considered: the benchmark wine from Jumilla, the best example of Monastrell in Spain or one of Spain’s greatest wines. The Pie Franco comes from the oldest vineyard (about 75 years old) on the property, La Solana. Solana is noted for its sandy soils that are phylloxera resistant but not completely immune and each year a few vines succomb to the disease which combined with the low yields means that there is very little Pie Franco to go around. For many years this cuvée was only available in Europe but recently a small amount has been made available to us.

A pre-fermentation maceration proceeds fermentation in stone lagars after which the wine is racked into neutral 500 liter French oak demi-muids where it ages for 16 to 18 months.

"This 2019 comes from the same ungrafted and dry-farmed vines planted in 1942 on a south-facing slope on poor limestone soils covered by gravels. In this vintage, it fermented destemmed in underground pools with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter oak barrels for 16 months. The wine is very Monastrell with the ripeness from the south exposition, with pungent notes of esparto grass and tree bark (vs. the pine needles in the wines from north-facing vineyards), characterful and with some dusty tannins that give it some rusticity. This is lovely and should develop nicely in bottle." - 97 Points, Wine Advocate

Producer: Casa Castillo

Country: Spain

Region: Murcia

Varietal: Monastrell

Appellation: Jumilla

Vintage: 2019

Size: 750ml