Casa Castillo Pie Franco 2023
£137.72 (Inc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / North Ireland
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pie Franco is serious, austere and shy, but it has a sense of harmony and refinement that makes it very attractive and a little mysterious. It has a very elegant and balanced palate with very fine tannins; you don't notice that the grapes had a slightly faster ripening, and the tannins show a level of refinement similar to a slower-ripening year. It might be the cushion effect of the old ungrafted vines that make it quite homogeneous and consistent from vintage to vintage. There's no trace of ripeness or excess here despite the south-facing exposition and the sandy soils, and the wine is very elegant and fine. The grapes are picked halfway through the harvest, so they already have the experience of the first half of the grapes from the property. It fermented with 25% to 30% full clusters and aged in foudre for 18 months, but the idea is to age this wine (and Las Gravas) for at least two years in foudre, in the style of the Riserva wines from Piamonte. It has good ripeness and 14.5% alcohol and terrific balance. 7,100 individually numbered bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2025.
Features
Type of wine
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Appellation
Alcohol
15.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Aged for 19 months in new French oak barrels of 500 litres.
Description
Casa Castillo Pie Franco is a wine that has left an indelible mark on the wine world. Hailing from the Jumilla region, this wine has been recognised for its exceptional quality, being the first wine in the history of Jumilla to achieve the coveted 100 Parker points. It originates from a single plot, La Solana, where an old ungrafted Monastrell plantation planted in 1941 is located. This variety, which accounts for 100% of the wine, is known for its robustness and distinctive flavour.
Winemaking
This wine is made by traditional fermentation with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled underground stone vats, using part of whole bunches of grapes. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in vats. It is aged for 16 months in 500-litre oak barrels and 5,000-litre foudres.
Taste
Casa Castillo Pie Franco has a dark cherry colour with a garnet rim. On the nose, it is very expressive and with a good complexity, revealing aromas of very ripe red and black fruit, almost jammy, together with notes of chocolate, spices, coffee, and balsamic and mineral reminiscences. On the palate, it stands out for its controlled power, being tasty and with the ripe fruit predominating over the toasted notes. A combination of fresh balsamic notes with pleasant spices can be appreciated, accompanied by polished tannins, a long finish and great persistence.
Shipping to North Ireland
50% discount on orders over £350.30Estimated transit time: 4-5 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over £350.30 |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | £11.30 | £5.65 (-£5.65) |
| 7-12 | £15.33 | £7.66 (-£7.66) |
| 13-18 | £21.46 | £10.73 (-£10.73) |
| 19-24 | £29.34 | £14.67 (-£14.67) |
| 25-30 | £34.07 | £17.03 (-£17.03) |
| 31-36 | £38.10 | £19.05 (-£19.05) |
| 37-42 | £45.98 | £22.99 (-£22.99) |
| 43-48 | £50.36 | £25.18 (-£25.18) |
| 49-54 | £56.88 | £28.44 (-£28.44) |
| 55-60 | £61.13 | £30.56 (-£30.56) |
| VAT included | ||
