25/11/07 – Bodegas Castano (Spain) Hecula 2004

Bodegas Castano (Spain) Hecula 2004
I haven’t done the analysis, but at 6.49 this wine, from Bodegas Castano in Yecla, south-east Spain, is probably the world’s cheapest wine to regularly achieve scores in the 90s from super-critic Robert Parker. This 2004 vintage (91-points) is another tremendous wine. Made from 100% Monastrell, otherwise known as Mourvedre, it is aged half in tank and half in French oak barriques. There’s a wonderful purity of silky black fruits on the nose: the sweet, essence of damson plum and black cherry, with a wrapping of delicate vanilla and all sorts of subtle nuances of violets, spices, game and earth. On the palate it is filled with fruit, yet there is an immediate sense of structure and concentration too, with ripe, smooth and spicy tannins and a tang of cherry acidity. This wine is layered, with spices and creamy oak building on the mid-palate, and really does represent astonishing value for money. 6.49, Averys .