Bodegas Montecastro, Ribera del Duero Cosecha 2021 75 cl

Spansk verdensklasse vin fra ”kult-winemaker” Carlos de la Fuente, der i mange år har været Peter Sissecks højre hånd bl.a. på Hacienda Monasterio. 2014 er den 3. årgang med Carlos ved roret.Det er en yderst spændende, elegante og meget charmerende Ribera del Duero, som oser af klasse. Absolut en vin med en selvsikker udstråling. Der er masser af aromaer af kirsebær, lakrids og blomster samt friske mineralske undertoner, der balancerer den imponerende fylde og det høje alkoholindhold på smukkeste vis.

Vinen lagres i hele 17 måneder på overvejende franske fade. Dog anvendes også 10% amerikanske egefade.
40% af fadene er helt nye fade. Undervejs i lagringsprocessen omstilles vinen adskillige gange således at vinen kan tappes på flaske uden klaring og med en kun ganske let filtrering.

Robert Parker 92+ point.

They are changing the wines to be careful with the extraction, to keep the freshness from the high-altitude vineyards and control the alcohol level, which is already visible in the 2021 Montecastro, even if the wine finished at 14.8% when they picked the grapes at 14% (it will be seen in future years, when they picked grapes at 13.5%). It’s 97% Tempranillo and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon that fermented in concrete and matured in French oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 16 months. It’s dark, with ripe dark berry fruit and measured oak in the shape of spices and toast, nicely integrated and with some creaminess. It is fresh (with a pH of 3.6), modern and clean, with some opulence. It has a velvety, tender texture and is elegant and polished, with round tannins. 120,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2023.