El Rapolao, La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo, 2019
A mark of Raul’s influence, El Rapolao is now the most labelled single vineyard wine in Bierzo (admittedly, three are his). Typically, El Rapolao is celebrated for its ripe complexity of fruit and depth, always allied to freshness. The La Vizcaina bottling coming from two plots on red soils; one mid-slope and one in the lower part, together averaging 550m of elevation. The older parcel in the mid-slope was planted in the 1920s on hard clay and stony soils and the younger, lower plot in the 1980s on clay with more organic material. Whole bunch fermented in wood and kept on the skins for 30-45 days before 12 months ageing in foudré and neutral 500L barrels.
critic reviews
Raul Perez has purchased the plot of El Rapolao that he uses for La Vizcaina, close to 1.3 hectares, and they expect the wine to have a big change as they are taking over the viticulture and want to lower yields. The 2019 La Vizcaina El Rapolao has plenty of tannin and is more concentrated than the 2020. 5,000 bottles produced.
Deep garnet. Deep-pitched cherry and cassis aromas are complemented by suggestions of smoky minerals, baking spices and lavender, along with a licorice note that builds with air. Youthfully chewy and alluringly sweet, offering concentrated, spice-laced black raspberry, bitter cherry, boysenberry and succulent herb flavors sharpened by a jolt of juicy acidity. Finishes sweet, smoky and extremely long, showing solid grip and mounting tannins that add framework to the intense dark fruit.