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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2017 and 2025 (based on 76 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.4 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 13 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Yorgos on 2/6/2023 & rated 93 points: Expressive nose of developed red and dark fruit, a touch of spice, mineral, some light animal notes. Medium bodied with great balance, no edges whatsoever with fine tannins and medium to long finish. At peak right know, a delectable wine. 93-94 (424 views) | | | Tasted by Mr.Loulou on 12/19/2020 & rated 92 points: In it's peak according the the 2 previous that I tasted in the past years. (902 views) | | | Tasted by Presidio Wine Bunker on 11/21/2020 & rated 91 points: 91+ (887 views) | | | Tasted by putter520 on 2/8/2020 & rated 92 points: Hints of sulfur at open but after a bit has subsided. Wine does have presence of some brett but fruit is wonderful. Dark reds and blacks up front, medium acid, nice finish albeit short. (1036 views) | | | Tasted by Vince_chip on 12/14/2019 & rated 93 points: Franchement renversé par la qualité de ce vin. Beaucoup de fruits noirs et rouges encore présent. Tanins assez puissant, mais une belle rondeur vient équilibrer le tout. Excellent achat. À racheter dans les millésimes courant.
RQP excellent. (1209 views) | | | Tasted by Mr.Loulou on 7/31/2019 & rated 91 points: Very good wine middle is a punch 3 stage wine med complexity, cherry on the nose menthol/leather in the middle and unrip blackberry finish. (1118 views) | | | Tasted by putter520 on 3/5/2018 & rated 90 points: Not a lot of depth or complexity but otherwise great wine. (1488 views) | | | Tasted by EMichels on 5/11/2017 & rated 90 points: Rich middle; Clean finish; Interesting slightly oxidized middle (1416 views) | | | Tasted by La Cave d'Argent on 10/24/2015 & rated 92 points: 2015 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/19/2015-10/27/2015 (New York City, NY): Sourced from vines 80-120 years in age, this deep ruby wine flaunts intense aromas of bright red fruit, spice, cocoa and slate. Medium-to-full-bodied, freshly acidic, seamlessly alcoholic and with big firm tannins, it delivers bramble fruit, spice, dark chocolate and mineral flavors. Gaining weight and complexity in middle, it closes with a long finish that has substantial tannic grip. This is an outstanding, newly-released wine which will require some cellaring. Drink 2020-2040. (7356 views) | | | Tasted by cos65 on 10/24/2015: 80 years old. Some Alicante and soussant
A hint of mustiness and some menthol, but then very supple texture some black cherry. Nice (1737 views) |
| La Vizcaína Producer Website
Raul Perez. He’s pretty much a rock star in Spanish Wine.
Affectionately known as the ‘ Wine Wizard’, not sure if this is due to the Gandalf style beard or the magic he creates with wine; maybe a bit of both! A producer with great influence on the new generation of Spanish winemakers, Raúl Pérez was born in Valtuille de Abajo, a small village in Bierzo, where his long time grape growing family manage the Castro Ventosa winery. His fame comes in no small part from the fact that the doors of his winery have always been open to newcomers in Bierzo, starting with Alvaro Palacios himself. He also helped many established names in Galicia like Forjas del Salnés in Rías Baixas and Algueira and Guímaro in Ribeira Sacra to focus on local grapes and terroir-driven wines.
Despite his traditional training, Pérez has gradually eschewed winemaking orthodoxy to capture and bottle the essence of the vineyards and soils where he works. In his reds, he searches for the most ideal maturation and maceration times for each vineyard. His wines are usually field blends of Mencía (it is standard to find Alicante Bouschet, Bastardo, Palomino, Dona Blanca, Godello or Malvasía mixed in the Bierzo vineyards) and are fermented with stems unless the grapes have been dehydrated. He claims to have found a balance between early harvesting and long macerations (two to five months). This allows him to preserve acidity, extract tannins gently and polymerize tannins through the use of natural oxygenation in oak. Pérez no longer uses cooling devices in his winery and his wines are aged either in foudres or used barrels. In recent times, he has been using flor (a veil of yeasts) to gain complexity and as a means of natural protection during the ageing process to avoid adding sulphur.
As for the whites, Pérez shuns ultraclean musts and cooling devices; he relays on yeasts and microbiology instead.
“I like to work with the freedom of not knowing how the wines are going to smell,” he says.
Born in 1973, Raúl Pérez started off in the family winery, but in 2003 he set up on his own in Bierzo. The name he chose was Ultreia (“let’s go further, in Latin”), the spirited salute exchanged among pilgrims in the Camino de Santiago. In 2010 he regained control of Castro Ventosa and in 2011 he launched La Vizcaína, also in Bierzo, in partnership with his nephew César Márquez. In addition to his consulting work for many producers across Spain, particularly in their beginnings, he oversees winemaking at Tilenus in Bierzo. Since its purchase by MG Wines, Pérez also consults for other wineries of the group in Spain’s southeast.MencíaMencia is grown in the Northwestern region of Spain near the borders of Galicia, Leon, and Zamora. Mencia produces fruity wines of great color, acidity and aging potential. It is sweet and aromatic, with a good dose of alcohol. The vines produce medium-sized clusters and fruit.
The reds made from Mencia have a characteristic velvety palate. Traditional reds are pale, fragrant and light wines. Modern winemakers are creating bolder reds, of higher concentration, expressing Mencia’s aromas and freshness. Many wineries are taking advantage of the variety ability to aging.
Rose wines are aromatic and fruity, lively, light and soft.Spain Vinos de España - Wines of Spain (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior) | Wikipedia
Wine Map on weinlagen-info
Spain is the third largest wine producing nation in the world, occupying the majority of the Iberian Peninsula with vast diversity in climate, culture, and of course, wine. From inky, dark reds of the [Priorat] to dry, white Finos from Andalusia, Spain can easily boast of elaborating a wide variety of notable styles. Within Spain there are currently 62 demarcated wine regions, of which a handful have gained international recognition: [Rioja], Priorat and [Ribera del Duero]. Yet these regions are only a small sample of the high quality wines Spain produces. Regions such as Cava, Penedes, Somontano, Galicia, Rueda and Jerez are only a few of the numerous regions worthy of exploration throughout Spain. Spain can also lay claim to having the most land under vine in the world, growing up to, by some accounts, 600 indigenous varietals of which Tempranillo is their most well known. Other popular varietals include [Garnacha], Bobal and Monastrell for reds and for whites; the infamous [sic] Palomino Fino grape which is used in the production of sherry wine, Pedro Ximenez in Montilla Morilles, Albarino used in the creation of the bright, effervescent wines of Galicia, and Verdejo in Rueda. - Source: - Catavino.net
Spain is not in the forefront of winemaking for its dessert wines, other than for its sweet wines from Sherry country including the highly revered Olorosos (when sweetened). But apart from Sherry Spain has a range of styles of dessert wines, ranging from the those made from the Pedro Ximenez grape primarily in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles) to luscious, red dessert wines made in the Mediterranean from the Garnacha (Grenache) grape. Some good Moscatels are made in Mallorca, Alicante and Navarre. The northwest corner of Spain, Galicia, with its bitter Atlantic climate, is even making dessert wines, called “Tostadillos” in the village of Ribadivia (similar to France’s “Vin de Paille”). The Canary Islands have made interesting dessert wines for centuries (they are mentioned by Shakespeare, for example) and in recent years the quality of winemaking has been improved and the Canary Islands wines are being better marketed now. The winemaking styles for “Vinos Dulces” are also diverse, from “Late Harvest” (Vendimia Tardía) to “Fortified Wines” (Fermentación Parcial). Based on in-spain.info.Castilla y León Castilla y León Wine (Turismo Castilla y León )Bierzo[[D.O.]] Bierzo is located on the western edge of the province of [[León]], next to the [[Galicia|Galician]] border. The region has a distinct microclimate, being at relatively low altitude and protected on both sides by mountains, marking a transition between the arid [[meseta]] and verdant Galicia.
The Santiago de Compostela pilgrim route passes directly through the region and the predominant red grape, [[Mencía]], was allegedly introduced by pilgrims. Mencía makes up 70% of planting and many wines are 100% Mencía. [[Garnacha Tintorera]] is the secondary red grape, although there are also experimental plantings of other varieties, including [[Merlot]] and [[Cabernet Sauvignon]]. Whites may contain [[Godello]], [[Doña Blanca]], [[Palomino]] and [[Malvasia]].
Bierzo produces much inexpensive bulk table wine but an influx of smaller bodegas around the turn of the millenium are producing modern-styled wines attracting international critical acclaim.
Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Bierzo |
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