Casa Castillo: Cuvee N Old Vines Monastrell 2017

Parker om: Cuvee N Old Vines Monastrell

The 2017 Cuvée N is only the second bottling after the initial 2015 vintage, as the idea was to produce it only in the Mediterranean vintages (so, they didn’t make it in 2016 and won't make it in 2018 either). 2017 was an extraordinary year, and this is from the first 2.3 hectares of vines planted in the top part of Las Gravas. They did some fine-tuning, such as harvesting a little earlier so that the wine has kept great freshness, and the portion of full clusters probably helped there too. I found all the wines from 2017 very floral and elegant, giving a sensation of freshness. This wine is medium-bodied, fresh, elegant and perfumed, with very fine tannins, a subtle, chalky texture and clean, focused flavors that stay on your palate. This is remarkably fresher than the 2015, with red rather than black fruit. 3,200 bottles were filled in March 2019. 96+/100