Raul Perez La Vizcaína - Bierzo Lomas de Valtuille 'Las Gundiñas' 2020

La Vizcaína is a project from Raúl Pérez that explores the hillside crus around his hometown of Vatuille de Abajo. Four reds and one white, all from single vineyard sites, are produced under the name, all from vines with over fifty years of average age (some much older). Though all the red wines Raúl produces in the Bierzo D.O. are labelled as 100% Mencía, they all in fact contain significant quantities of other local grapes. The rich varietal diversity found in Galicia is due in large part to the famous Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James in the town of Santiago de Compostela, the earliest references to which date back to the 9th century. The monks who made the journey would often carry vine cuttings from their home regions in their packs to offer as gifts to the Spanish monasteries that would put them up along the way. This is certainly the explanation for the preponderance of Trousseau found throughout northwestern Spain. Depending on the particular region (and often on the person you are talking to), the grape is known variously as Bastardo, María Ordoñez, Domingo Pérez, Merenzao, Godello Tinto and Verdejo Negro, but ampelographic studies have shown it to be genetically identical to the Trousseau found predominately in the Jura region of France. Other red grapes found scattered around the old vineyards of Bierzo include Sousón, Alicante Bouschet, Brancellao and Caiño. Curiously, Mencía and Alicante Bouschet are the only varieties approved by the D.O., hence the practice of simply labeling the wines as Mencía.

Las Gundiñas was planted in 1910 directly in the path of the Camino de Santiago on deep clay soils mixed with eroded organic material. A mencía-dominant field blend with an important contribution of Doña Blanca (white). Fermented whole-cluster in neutral oak vat with long post-fermentation maceration. Raised for one year in neutral 225L and 500L barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.

"The 2020 La Vizcaína Las Gundiñas has a new plot, a west-facing vineyard that is steeper and cooler. Pérez likes Gundiñas and Rapolao in warmer years like this. In 2020, 50% of the wine matured in 2,000-liter oak foudre and the other half in used 500-liter barrels. It was harvested much earlier, and the wine shows more freshness even if it shows more tannin today. He likes long macerations (40 to 45 days) and works toward having tannins and weight in his wines. Some 6,000 bottles were filled in August 2021."  - 95 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Producer: Raul Perez

Country: Spain

Region: Castilla y León

Varietal: Mencia

Appellation: Bierzo

Vintage: 2020

Size: 750ml