Casa Castillo La Tendida 2023

The 2023 La Tendida is the fourth vintage of a young Monastrell from the paraje, or lieu-dit, that it's named for, planted between 2006 and 2010. The soils here are a transition between the valley and the slopes, and the 100% Monastrell makes it more serious—in the years of better yields, it has some Garnacha, but this year, that was not possible. It's quite spicy, with a rustic/earthy touch, redolent of tree bark, and is a little herbal, with good ripeness and a contained 14% alcohol, one of the lowest in 2023. They picked the grapes quite early, just as they were finishing picking the Garnacha. They didn't want any over-ripeness because, even after the rain in August, the year was warm and dry. This fermented with 50% full clusters in the underground lagares and matured in foudre. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2025.