2022 Raul Pérez Ultreia de Valtuille

Raúl Pérez is without a doubt the most mediatized winemaker in all of Spain at the moment. However, his wines are almost impossible to find! Everyone talks about them, but few have tasted them. Raúl is present in countless appellations and regions, not only in Spain, but also in South Africa, Portugal, South America. The common thread in his work is the recovery of vieilles vignes of indigenous grape varieties and the making of authentic wines with a lot of character and personality. Or to put it in his own words: 'I prefer to make an undrinkably bad Galician wine, but at least let it be a Galician wine.' He has already vinified dozens of wines in countless different regions (mostly in the northwest of Spain, and also beyond), but which have never been marketed. He tests, he tries, and also fails very often. This way of working naturally gives him a great deal of experience, which later enables him to get the most out of one grape variety or one region.

Today he makes or helps make more than 80 wines. Finally, he has also recently settled down by growing two mini bodegas of his own: one in the Tierra de León region, in the village of Valdevimbre, and another in his native Bierzo, where he makes his own Ultreias, the absolute essence of Mencía, in the village of Salas de los Barrios. Raúl always works organically and as purely as possible. He uses the minimum of SO2.

The Ultreia de Valtuille from Raul Pérez in Bierzo , named after the road (Ultreia) to Santiago de Compostela. From a single plot of 1.1 ha, planted in 1908 at an altitude of 530 m. No destemming. The entire bunches undergo maceration and fermentation in large vats for 90 days. Then élevage for 12 months in French oak barrels.

In the glass, the Ultreia de Valtuille is dark red in color. An explosive nose with both floral violet tones and liquorice and red fruit with an earthy undertone. Firm in the mouth, but very nicely balanced with always a good freshness. Our regular customers know that we are a big fan of the wines from this region made from Mencia (or the white Godello) such as the wines of Perez and for example Val de Sil . The continental influences and the style give the wines a Burgundian signature and gives wines with an incredible price-quality ratio!