Casa Castillo Monastrell, Jumilla

Casa Castillo Jumilla is hand-picked and fermented wild in tank, before spending eight to nine months in larger format, neutral French oak. Think pulpy blueberry, raspberry bon bon, violet, smoked meats and a twine of sage-brushed tannins, corralling the flavours into a long corridor across the palate. The wine is full-bodied, to be sure. Yet the gentle approach to extraction and employment of a substantial percentage of whole berries in the mix ensures a lightness of touch, a mid-weighted feel and the sense of the fruit popping through the mouth. Versatile at the table, this is an everyday wine for the most assiduous drinker to the layperson.