Bodegas Castaño - Hécula Organic Yecla Monastrell 2022

Ramón Castaño Santa, founder of Bodegas Castaño, started making his first wines in bulk in 1950. Pioneer in the use of the Monastrell grape, he extended the family heritage with the purchase of new vineyard sites. As his three children, Ramón, Juan Pedro, and Daniel entered the family business, Bodegas Castaño began a phase of innovation and expansion to markets outside Spain.

The poor limestone soils are the natural terroir for the dry-farmed Monastrell and Garnacha Tintorera, but Bodegas Castaño also grow foreign red red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and, in less quantity, white grape varietals such as Macabeo and Chardonnay, all of which have adapted well to these conditions.

Monastrell is the main red variety within their Appellation of Origin, Yecla, an ideal habitat that allows this varietal to express itself at its best, yielding great intensity, colour, body, structure and silkiness–an excellent grape variety for crafting wines with both a Mediterranean and mineral character.

The beginning of the harvest starts with early-ripening white grape varieties, followed by the first batches of red grapes during the month of September. The end of harvest is always with Monastrell, the grape with the longest growing cycle. The harvest is fully manual in order to deliver the best fruit to the wine makers.

Two winemaking cellars are fully equipped with stainless steel tanks for the correct maceration process at controlled temperatures. There is also an underground oak barrel-aging cellar with temperature and humidity controls, and a warehouse with all the right conditions to provide the wine bottles their final rest before their release.