RED WINE

Depp, bright purple.  Drop-dead aromas of dark berry preserves, Asian spice, potpourri and incense, with an intense mineral overtone.  Stains the palate with sappy, chewy black raspberry and floral pastille flavors enlivened by notes of allspice, star anise and nutmeg.  Silky, sweet and penetrating on the finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity and clarity.  There's an elegance and focus here that's reminiscent of the best Burgundies, but with more power and texture.  If I were a third-world despot this is what I'd be drinking every day. STEPHEN TANZER, wineaccess.com

10 BOTTLES AVAILABLE

Dark, bright-rimmed ruby. Spice- and mineral-accented dark berry and floral scents show fine clarity and a complementary hint of candied licorice. Sappy and focused on the palate, offering gently sweet boysenberry, bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors and a spicy touch of white pepper. The mineral quality repeats on a very long, penetrating finish that leaves sweet blue fruit and spicecake notes behind. JOSH RAYNOLDS

Merenzao is the same variety as Trousseau (and Bastardo in Portugal) and was probably brought to Ribeira Sacra by the Cistercian monks who set up camp here in the Middle Ages. Algueira’s Merenzao vines have an average age of 80 years and are rooted in a steep slope of gneiss, quartz and slate in the Amandi Gorge. The fruit sees a wild yeast, 100% whole-bunch ferment, is pressed by foot and aged for 12 months in old oak and some local chestnut vessels.

The result is an extraordinary, unique wine with a complex perfume of finely detailed fruit characters that recalls wild cherry steeped with blood orange, rose and a tincture of wild herb. There’s more colour and muscular density from the solar year, yet it remains super lucid and tender and finishes long, leaving behind a lick of elegant tannin and a perfume of sweet red berries and smoky minerals. This is one tasty Bastardo!

We have been enamoured with the mencia based wines of Spaces northwest since first we tried them. Their beautiful lifted nose spiked with mineral accents that flowed onto graceful pallets raked with fine granit like tannins an earthy savouryness at the edges. They are something akin to cru Beaujolias crossed with the finest reds of the loire and we just cant get enough.

Bodegas Pittacum is owned by the Terras Gauda operation and is situated in Argaza in the heart of Bierzo and made from grape sourced from small plots of organically grown 90 year old vines grown in clay soils on steep slopes.

Glace fruits with crème de mure and raspberry coulis flecked with granitic mineral shards. Mid weight styling come from slippery red fruits and a gentle burst of freshness that comes not from acidity but from a deep mineral vein soaked up from the long roots and rocky slopes. Its like a bowl of mixed berry smashed onto rock and is absolutely delightful. If you have not had the wines of the region or mencia this is a belter of an introduction.

The super affordable 2021 Parajes really overdelivers in this cool year. It was produced with grapes from up to 45 different plots in nine villages, trying to capture the essence of Bierzo. This regional red mixes soils and altitudes, mostly very old plots and therefore planted with a field blend with a majority of Mencía but also around 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% whites or other reds like Bastardo, Souson or Estaladiña. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and plastic bins with some full clusters, indigenous yeasts and variable macerations, ranging between 15 and 60 days. Seventy-five percent of the volume matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter barrels and the rest in a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's aromatic, floral, perfumed and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It is round and juicy, with very fine tannins and depth and complexity, corresponding to a much more expensive wine. A bargain. He harvested quite early in 2021, and the wines have moderate alcohol. 29,504 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2022. LUIS GUITIERREZ, Wine Advocate

 

The 2019 Ultreia is mostly from the Ponferrada zone on slate soils and produced with long macerations and flor in the aging. The wine has an earthy profile, so it's very different, earthy and nutty, with darker aromas, which I often find in the slate wines. It has notes of iron and iodine, soy sauce and something salty. Some 5,000 bottles produced. The 2020 was still in barrel, as it matured with the skins for nine months in oak vat! LUIS GUITIERREZ, Wine Advocate

 

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