Ultreia de Valtuille, Bierzo, 2021

The most famous of the Ultreia single vineyards, Valtuille 2021 shows a refined mix of graphite, red fruits and flowers, stones, powdered earth and a firm, concentrated core. We have followed this wine from barrel to bottle and it has put on weight and grown in stature post-bottling. It now presents a more serious persona that, as every year, will repay a decade or so in the cellar. Produced from 120 year-old vines in the Las Villegas vineyard. The site is essentially one contiguous bank separated in to 7 different plots with different expositions. Raúl’s main plot is in the higher east-southeast facing part of the vineyard at 530- 575m elevation, which is better exposed to cooling northern breezes, as well as a small parcel of north facing vines, bringing his total ownership to 2HA of the 6HA in total. Las Villegas was the first vineyard replanted after phylloxera, and it produces deeply complex, salty stony wines with immense fragrancy and concentration. Sandy soil atop very hard bedrock.