Just ran into this yummy article (short) and wanted to share with the goup!

A Rich Partner for Beef Stew
By HOWARD G. GOLDBERG
New York Times (December 15, 2002)

The 2001 Casa Castillo, a dark robust monastrell from Jumilla, belongs with beef stew. Monastrell is southeastern Spain's name for mourvèdre, a workhorse grape in southern France. This delicious unfiltered, filling red, chockablock with raspberry and chocolate flavors, is so dense it is almost a liquid cake. Eli Zabar's new store, W.I.N.E., 1415 Third Avenue (80th Street), charges $10.

Ummmh but there are 4 different Casa Castillo for that price?:

Maceración Carbonica
Crianza
Monastrell
Las Gravas

Andrés

Andres, I doubt it's the Crianza! Aren't crianza the aged wines? I am sure that for $10 it's the youngest grapes, don't you think? I'm not a wine expert. I depend on wine experts to guide me through the delectible list of Spanish wines.

How much are these wines in Spain? Thanks,

BLady wrote:

Aren't crianza the aged wines?

Yes but Crianza is just the first level of aging, that is, 6 months in oak, 6 months in the bottle. And aged wines are not neccessarily more expensive it depends on the quality and newness of the oak. But putting technicalities aside, Casa Castillo Monastrell seems the best, a feast for those of you who are on the blackberry business.

Andrés