El Rapolao, La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo, 2017

Name: El Rapolao, La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo
Brand: Raúl Pérez
Price: 160.73 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

justerini & brooks tasting note

Always the most floral and elegant of the La Vizcaina crus, the 2017 offers up freshly cut red fruits and summer berries, really finely tuned aromatics and a veritable stoniness unique to this cru. From a total of 1.5 hectares split across two parcels, one planted in the 1920s and the other in 1980. The older parcel is predominantly hard clay and stones, while the younger parcel has looser, more organic soils and they blend to create a wine of fine minerality and salinity, with silken fruit and style. Elevation averages 550m and exposition moves from north to west. Fermented with 100% whole clusters in traditional wooden vats. Unlike the rest of the La Vizcaina range, El Rapolao sees slightly a shorter skin contact, generally between 30-45 days, and ages for 12 months purely in 500L barrels rather than 225L barrique, yielding a wine of medium body, cool elegance and wonderful persistence.

critic reviews

94/100Josh Raynolds,Vinous

Shimmering ruby. Ripe, spice-tinged blackberry, cherry cola, licorice and pungent floral qualities on the deeply perfumed nose. Densely packed red and dark berry liqueur and violet pastille flavors are lifted and sharpened by a jolt of smoky minerality, and a licorice note emerges with aeration. Concentrated as well as energetic in style, finishing with superb persistence, building tannins and lingering spice and floral notes.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2031

date of review 06/2021

95/100Luis Gutierrez,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

I was impressed by the 2017 La Vizcaina El Rapolao, but the warm vintage was very good for a warmer vineyard like El Rapolao. This is hands-down my favorite of the 2017s from La Vizcaina, the wine that shows more freshness. It's harmonious and perhaps was harvested a little earlier than the others. Like the other wines from the range, this 2017 has more color than the 2018, as well as more power and a little more concentration, and it's also denser than the 2018, with tannins that are grittier and a little drier. But if I didn't have the 2018 next to this, I would only be praising it, because the 2017 is truly impressive, all in place and simply one step up in power and all the rest to keep the balance. 10,000 bottles were filled in May 2019. This is a late-budding vineyard, and it didn't suffer the effect of the spring hail from the year.

DRINKING WINDOW 2020 - 2027

date of review 06/2020