Casa Castillo Cuvée N 2019

Crítica

2019 > 95 puntos
The 2018 was not produced, so from the 2017 they jumped to the 2019 Cuvée N, a wine they only want to produce in Mediterranean vintages (so far only 2015 and 2017). This 2019 comes from a slightly atypical vintage, marked by torrential rains during the harvest. It was produced with grapes from north-facing vines planted at the end of the 1970s on sandy limestone soils covered with gravels. It fermented fully destemmed in underground stone pools with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 500-liter oak barrels for 16 months. The 2019s in general are more varietal than the 2020s, and they have good ripeness, with notes of aromatic herbs and ripe fruit (without excess), a medium to full-bodied palate with some grainy tannin and a whiff of spiciness from the élevage. 3,400 bottles were filled in March 2021. There will be no 2020 either, but the wine should come back with the 2021 vintage. - Apr 29, 2022, Luis Gutierrez
2017 > 96+ puntos
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. - Issue 242 End of April 2019