2022 El Castro de Valtuille Mencia Joven
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Tasting notes
The impressive 2022 Valtuille El Val has a darker yellow color, some toasty notes (80% of the barrels were new), contained ripeness and 13.07% alcohol. They harvest early in the warm years, and the wine has very good freshness and acidity, which is reflected in the parameters—a pH of 3.15 and 7.04 grams of acidity. It's juicy and approachable, with a round palate, and it's very clean and focused, with the toasty notes still noticeable on the finish. It's varietal, with purity and the freshness like a cooler year. 1,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2023. It should develop nicely in bottle.
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Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
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The young 2022 El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is a regional red from over 300 plots of old vines that fermented destemmed in stainless steel and matured in oak foudres for three months. It's juicy, fruit-driven, very primary and approachable—the character of the year—with notes of berries and herbs, spicy and tasty, with an austere palate. 2022 was a very dry and warm year when they had to harvest very quickly and the alcohol levels are moderate. It rained some 30 liters just before the harvest, which saved the harvest and made the wines a lot less warm than expected. Yields were good, nearly as good as 2021. Some 125,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2023.