Country: | Spain |
Region: | La Mancha |
Winery: | Castillo |
Grape Type: | Tempranillo |
Vintage: | 2014 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Finca del Castillo Tempranillo La Mancha is made from 30 year old vine Tempranillo (100%).
This pretty little red has a flavor reminiscent of good Cotes du Rhone. Medium bodied, flavorful; hints of raspberry and strawberry. Shows best with picnic fare and grilled meats. Perfect summer red.
El Cortijillo Tempranillo La Mancha is made from 100% Tempranillo
Up front aromas of raspberry and cherry fruit, medium to light weight, Rhône wine in character, cherry fruit flavors, followed by bright acidity. Reminds of a mythical cross between a Pinot Noir and a Côtes-du-Rhône. Pleasant and fun, bistro red.
Made from 30 year old vine.
Delicious with Paella, hamburger or pasta. But also great with grilled vegetables. (bell pepper, eggplant, etc)
El Cortijillo Tempranillo La Mancha is made from 100% Tempranillo
Up front aromas of raspberry and cherry fruit, medium to light weight, Rhône wine in character, cherry fruit flavors, followed by bright acidity. Reminds of a mythical cross between a Pinot Noir and a Côtes-du-Rhône. Pleasant and fun, bistro red.
Made from 30 year old vine.
Delicious with Paella, hamburger or pasta. But also great with grilled vegetables. (bell pepper, eggplant, etc)
Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador is made from 91% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha.
Named after the centuries-old caves or “cuevas” carved out of the hillside below the castle of San Vicente in Sonsierra north of the Ebro, this wine is composed of 91 percent Tempranillo and 9 percent Garnacha. The fruit is sourced from eight different plots that yield about 1.2 kg per vine. Fermentation begins after a three-day cold maceration and the wine is aged for nineteen months in 100 percent new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.
The palate offers flavors of blackberry coulis, Damson plums, Rosemary and well-integrated tannins; this wine is well balanced and youthful with a long powerful finish. Both red and black fruit are pronounced in the nose, but there are also mineral and herbal notes of gravel and lavender.
Review:
Appearance Intense garnet red dress of great luminosity and elegance. Aroma Slightly candied fruit tones, toasted from a good barrel, intense. Palate Powerful and marked on the palate, velvety, round, tasty and balanced.
Guia Repsol 95 Points
Youthful purple. A complex, oak-spiced bouquet displays ripe boysenberry and cherry, candied violet, cola and mocha scents lifted by a vibrant mineral flourish. Deeply concentrated yet lively as well, offering intense dark fruit preserve, cola and spicecake flavors that show excellent delineation and floral lift. Manages to be rich as well as lively and finishes very long and alluringly sweet, leaving allspice and vanilla notes behind.
-Vinous 93 Points
Finca La Pared Cuvee Especial is made from Graciano & Syrah.
The Cuvee Especial is a Graciano and Syrah blend aged in oak barrels that produces a full-bodied, fresh wine of great complexity and long lasting finish.
Review:
"A deep, brooding nose with lots of fine oak spices and hazelnuts that adorn the blackberries and violets. Succulent and bright on the palate, with caressing, silky tannins dialing into the black and blue fruit. Quite long and subtle. Delicious now, but can hold, too."
- James Suckling (June 2022), 94 pts
Delas Freres Cote Rotie La Landonne Rouge is made from 100 percent Syrah.
This very ancient region dates back to the Roman Era and is located on the right bank of the Rhône. It is said that during the Middle Ages, “The Seigneur de Maugiron” gave a hillside to each of his two daughters - one was brunette and the other fair - thus, were born the names of “Côte Brune” and “Côte Blonde.” Wines from the Côte Blonde tend to be more delicate and lighter in character than the fuller wines of the Côte Brune. Together, they make a wine of style and substance. This cuvée is a vineyard plot selection. The grapes come exclusively from a plot within the named slope of “La Landonne.”
This cuvée‘s first vintage was 1997. The wine is only made in the very best years. Its highly limited production never exceeds 2,500 bottles per year.
The steep, terraced hillsides along the river produce wines that are among the "biggest" reds of France. The Delas Côte-Rôtie is primarily Syrah with an addition of up to 10 to 20% of Viognier grapes in the crop. The soils of the northern part of the Côte Brune vineyard consists of extremely steep, terraced slopes of ferruginous mica schists which are covered with schist sand (arzel). The Côte Blonde has a varied geology with gneiss and granite predominating at the most southern side of the appellation. The area has dry, hot summers with regular rainfalls during other seasons. The grapes for the “La Landonne” cuvée are picked by hand at maximum maturity. Fermentation takes place in traditional open-topped concrete tanks, following three days of pre-fermentation cold maceration. Before fermentation, the maceration process continues under controlled temperatures of 82°F to 86°F. Daily cap pushing down and pumping over are carried out for about 10 days with total vatting time of up to 20 days. The wine is aged for 14 to 16 months in new or one year old oak casks. The barrels are topped up regularly.
Food Pairing: This wine pairs wonderfully with fine meats, roasted beef, water games, truffles and spicy stews. The bottle should be opened 1 to 3 hours before drinking. This wine needs at least 3 years cellaring before it can open up its complexity. In such case it is strongly recommended to decant before serving.
Tasting Notes: The wine‘s deep color is underscored by plummy hues. A complex nose shows deep, fruity aromas with hints of licorice and roasted coffee. Endowed with a dense and silky tannic structure, this is a full, fleshy wine that provides an ample and generous palate. Its lasting finish speaks of considerable ageing potential.
Reviews:
Deep in color, the espresso, licorice, smoke and flint, paired with layers of juicy, ripe fresh, red fruits show up with ease. On the palate, the wine offers richness, density, purity of fruit, herbs, crushed stones and a wall of ripe, lushly textured, dark red berries. This will age quite nicely.T
-Wine Cellar Insider 97 Points
Sun-baked garrigue and smoky notes of iron and earth accent intensely ripe black cherry and cassis in this wine. Made from 100% Syrah, it's a hulking powerhouse of black-fruit flavors but finessed by firm acidity and fine, integrated tannins. Stunning already it should improve through 2036 and hold further
-Wine Enthusiast 97 Points
Bright purple. Powerful cherry, cassis, potpourri, exotic spice and olive qualities on the highly perfumed, complex nose. Sweet and energetic on the palate, offering impressively concentrated black and blue fruit preserve, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that unfold steadily with aeration. In a powerful but energetic style and quite primary now. Aeration brings up smoky bacon and floral pastille qualities that carry through the strikingly long, youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind sweet dark and floral notes.
-Vinous 95 Points
Alluring, with warm fruitcake and black tea aromatics leading off for a lush and warm core of crushed plum, cherry reduction and blackberry pâte de fruit flavors. Despite the showy fruit detail, there's a solid iron underpinning, with pretty floral notes and bright energy throughout. Best from 2023 through 2038. 300 cases made, 188 cases imported.
-Wine Spectator 96 Points
This very ancient region dates back to the Roman Era and is located on the right bank of the Rhône. It is said that during the Middle Ages, “The Seigneur de Maugiron” gave a hillside to each of his two daughters - one was brunette and the other fair - thus, were born the names of “Côte Brune” and “Côte Blonde.” Wines from the Côte Blonde tend to be more delicate and lighter in character than the fuller wines of the Côte Brune. Together, they make a wine of style and substance. This cuvée is a vineyard plot selection. The grapes come exclusively from a plot within the named slope of “La Landonne.”
This cuvée‘s first vintage was 1997. The wine is only made in the very best years. Its highly limited production never exceeds 2,500 bottles per year.
The steep, terraced hillsides along the river produce wines that are among the "biggest" reds of France. The Delas Côte-Rôtie is primarily Syrah with an addition of up to 10 to 20% of Viognier grapes in the crop. The soils of the northern part of the Côte Brune vineyard consists of extremely steep, terraced slopes of ferruginous mica schists which are covered with schist sand (arzel). The Côte Blonde has a varied geology with gneiss and granite predominating at the most southern side of the appellation. The area has dry, hot summers with regular rainfalls during other seasons. The grapes for the “La Landonne” cuvée are picked by hand at maximum maturity. Fermentation takes place in traditional open-topped concrete tanks, following three days of pre-fermentation cold maceration. Before fermentation, the maceration process continues under controlled temperatures of 82°F to 86°F. Daily cap pushing down and pumping over are carried out for about 10 days with total vatting time of up to 20 days. The wine is aged for 14 to 16 months in new or one year old oak casks. The barrels are topped up regularly.
The wine‘s deep color is underscored by plummy hues. A complex nose shows deep, fruity aromas with hints of licorice and roasted coffee. Endowed with a dense and silky tannic structure, this is a full, fleshy wine that provides an ample and generous palate. Its lasting finish speaks of considerable ageing potential.
This wine pairs wonderfully with fine meats, roasted beef, water games, truffles and spicy stews. The bottle should be opened 1 to 3 hours before drinking. This wine needs at least 3 years cellaring before it can open up its complexity. In such case it is strongly recommended to decant before serving.
Finca del Castillo Tempranillo La Mancha 2014 is made from 30 year old vine Tempranillo (100%).
Finca del Castillo Tempranillo La Mancha 2014 is a pretty little red has a flavor reminiscent of good Cotes du Rhone. Medium bodied, flavorful; hints of raspberry and strawberry. Shows best with picnic fare and grilled meats. Perfect summer red.
The Finca del Castillo Estate
Finca del Castillo means "The Castle's winery" in Spanish. The wine is made by Vinicola de Castilla in Manzanares (Ciudad Real) in an up to date, state of the art winemaking facility (30,000 sq meters/300,000 sq ft) with the capacity of producing 2 million liters and holding 8,000 barrels. Founded in 1976, it's a privately owned corporation (not a co-op). Since its inception, a DO La Mancha pioneer in fruit-driven young wines, barrel-aged reds and varietals. More than 600 international awards for their wines.
Production by type: 65% Red wine, 35% White and Sparkling.
Export sales represent 50% of the production. The winery exports to 22 countries.
Capacity is 20,000,000 liters, currently running at 12,000,000 liters of yearly production.
This Bodega likes to promote their Crianza wines.
The Finca del Castillo Vineyards
The winery and the vineyards are all located in the "La Mancha" DO. Tempranillo is the primary grape varietals and it represents 70% of the total production.
They grow the following 5 red grape varietals:
· Tempranillo
· Cabernet Sauvignon
· Merlot
· Petit Verdot
· Syrah
They also grow the following 6 differents types of White grape varietals:
· Verdejo
· Airén
· Macabeo
· Sauvignon Blanc
· Moscato
· Chardonnay.
The wines are all produced with grapes they only grow themselves. They own 50 hectares, and they currently rent another 550 hectares (long term leasing contract).
Guillemot-Michel Vire-Clesse Charleston is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
This cuvée is produced from hundred-year old vines that the great-grandfather planted after he returned from World War I. The family wanted to honor his memory and vinify these vines the same way he did, in old demi-muids.
Charleston is a deep and complex wine that gently express itself in the glass, offering juicy white fruit flavors and a lengthy finish.
Charleston is vinified and aged for one year in demi-muids of over 10 years old. During the following harvest, the wine is racked and placed in vats for another 6 months of aging before bottling.
Fish in white sauce, poultry in creamy sauce, hard cheeses.
Review:
The 2020 Viré-Clessé Charleston is the most structured, concentrated wine in the range, mingling notions of crisp orchard and stone fruit with scents of clear honey, white flowers, beeswax and mint in an inviting bouquet. Medium to full-bodied ample and satiny, it's layered and multidimensional, with impressive depth at the core, racy acids and chalky grip. Derived from the Guillemot family's oldest parcel of vines (dating back to 1918), it's built to age.
-Wine Advocate 94 Points
Crianza is the essential wine. Balance and integrity. It displays the fine manners of experience and the grace of plethoric vine. Juicy black fruit on the palate inviting you to eat well and feel good.
But there is more. Crianza maintains an invisible pact with the landscape. An imperceptible force that brings us closer to the truth of the place. And instantly turns extreme climate vineyards into the most welcoming place in the world.
Prepared with Tempranillo grapes (100%), this wine has a very bright, intense maraschino cherry colour that fades to a Cardinal red rim.
It has a very marked aroma with a good balance of fruit and wood, where tones of vanilla intermingle with well-ripened fruit, black berries and wild fruits. There are also noticeable hints of leather and liquorice, resulting from the mingling of the French oak and the aromas inherent in this variety of grape.
In the mouth, the wine has a smooth texture but fills the palate with balanced flavours, including fine tannins, which help extend the life of the wine. The finish and aftertaste are both long and elegant.
Vineyard:
Pago de los Capellanes, Pedrosa de Duero.
Variety composition:
100% Tempranillo.
Type of soil:
Clayey and chalky.
Aging:
12 months in barrel and remainder on rack.
Type of oak:
100% French oak, medium toast.
Serving:
Uncork and decant one hour before serving at a temperature of 16-18 ºC.
Selected harvest with yields limited to 5000 kg per hectare. The harvest begins in early October, starting with the most mature parcels. Once the grapes are brought into the winery, the tanks are seeded with indigenous yeast (start culture) and the alcoholic fermentation begins. During the barrelling period, which lasts 30 days, the wine is crushed and pumped over daily, all the while controlling the density, temperature and evolution of the yeast. At the end of this fermentation, the tanks are emptied and the wine taken for malolactic fermentation.
The malolactic fermentation begins without the addition of bacteria. The temperature is held steady at 20ºC for period of 22 days, during which we monitor the levels of malic and lactic acids. When the malic acid content is less than 0.1 grams per litre, the wine is decanted to separate the lees and is transferred directly to the barrels without undergoing any type of filtration, clarification or cold treatment.
The wine is aged for twelve months in new and semi-new French oak barrels (no more than three years old). At the end of this period, it is taken to the tank for homogenisation, where it undergoes light filtration through cartridges (open pore) and is then bottled.