87 2005 Castro Ventosa El Castro de Valtuille Joven (Bierzo) 8/1/10 ($20)
100 % Mencia
Color: Deep garnet. (3.0) Bouquet: Elegant cedar and black cherry. Restrained. (2.5) Body: Solid middleweight with very good fruit, acidity and tannin. Lively texture in the mouth. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet. Fruit is a little more expressive, but seems to be in an intermediate stage of development. Shows tannin. Somewhat closed. (2.5) Finish: Parallels bouquet. (2.5)
Overall: Shows black cherry, Pinot Noir-like fruit and some complexity comes out with air (game and animal fur), but it's somewhat closed at present. It could improve in the next couple of years, but I don't know if it has the stuffing. It strikes me as a wine that was probably at its best a couple of years ago. As beared out by the '07 version, which is significantly more tasty and fresh at present. (13.5)
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