El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven 2024
HK$ 163.21
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The only wine from 2024 I tasted was the very young red 2024 El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven, where young (joven) refers to the wine, as the grapes come from old vines. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel, pressed after 18 days and blended before Christmas, after which it was kept in oak foudres for three months. This is always primary and fruit-driven by definition, ripe but fresh, with 13.2% alcohol and a pH of 3.75, juicy and approachable. It's from a year with lots of purity of fruit, with a lot of rain during the harvest (like in the past). The wine is agile and fine-boned with very fine tannins. It would benefit from a little bit of time in bottle. They do different bottlings of this wine, as they produce around 100,000 bottles. It was bottled in May 2025.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Country
Region
Appellation
Alcohol
14.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Description
Bodegas Castro Ventosa is a winery with a family soul and roots that are deeply rooted in the slate and clay soil of Bierzo. Founded in 1752 and today run with silent mastery by Raúl Pérez, the "enfant terrible" of Spanish wine, this winery represents a balance between tradition, intuition and risk. Raúl, who was born among the vines and learned his trade with his hands in the soil, is known for letting the vineyard speak, although sometimes his language is more whisper than shout. In the late 1990s, when many opted to internationalise their wines with new oak and excessive extraction, he decided to go against the grain: minimal intervention, absolute respect for the Bierzo terroir and an approach that bordered on heresy for some.
Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is born of this purist philosophy. It is a tribute to the most direct and honest expression of the Mencía grape. Sourced from vineyards between 30 and 60 years old, located on northeast-facing slopes over 500 metres above sea level, on poor soils of decomposed slate, gravel and some clay, this wine thrives on the scarcity, altitude and cool mists that descend from the mountains of Leon. The Bierzo's Atlantic-continental climate gives rise to a Mencía that is all nerve, tension and mineral character. No make-up, no concessions. Just fruit, soil and the intuition of a family that has been listening to its vines for more than two centuries.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested by hand in small boxes, with rigorous selection in the vineyard. The grapes are partially destemmed (a small fraction remains with stalks to provide structure and nerve) and are vatted in stainless steel tanks. Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts is carried out without strict temperature control, allowing the wine to find its own pulse.
In the elaboration of El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven, there is no oak ageing. No barrel ageing. Here the priority is varietal purity, freshness and the immediacy of the landscape. After a short ageing on fine lees, the wine is bottled without aggressive filtering or unnecessary clarification. What arrives in the glass is practically the juice of the Bierzo soil, alive, authentic and without intermediaries.
Taste
From the first moment on the nose, El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is energetic, with that Atlantic freshness that cuts through the air like a sharp razor. It opens with aromas of wild raspberry, sour cherry and red currant, all enveloped in an atmosphere of scrubland, damp stone and a subtle note of wilted violets. The fruit does not shout, but neither does it hide; it has that earthy, almost sombre tone, reminiscent of undergrowth in autumn, with a faint echo of cold smoke and leaf litter.
On the palate, El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is juicy, tense, like a wine that moves with fine, elegant muscle. It has a vibrant acidity, and light but firm tannins, like the handshake of an old farmer. There is tension, but also a trace of fruity sweetness that makes it accessible and vibrant. The finish is dry, with a hint of graphite, wild blackberry and a hint of black liquorice.
Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is not a wine to admire from afar, but to drink, share and let it speak to you about Bierzo without filters. Direct, frank and absolutely sincere.
Shipping to Hong Kong
Estimated transit time: 3 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Complete box |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 6 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 7-11 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 12 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 13-17 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 18 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 19-23 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 24 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 25-29 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 30 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 31-35 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 36 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 37-41 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 42 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 43-47 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 48 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 49-53 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 54 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 55-59 bottles | HK$ 139.73 | 60 bottles, Free shipping! |
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