Ultreia de Valtuille, Bierzo, 2022
Fragrant notes of red cherry and herbs – bullace and damson and earth, with, in 2022, sweet tannins and a gentle rising quality. Smooth-fruited and easy to taste with spice and stones, this has a supple feel, very smart, with just a touch of barrel supporting sweetness – before tapering in to a steelier, more mineral finish. 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 in the late 1880s and it produces deeply complex, salty stony wines with immense fragrancy and concentration. Sandy soil atop very hard bedrock.
critic reviews
The 2022 Ultreia Valtuille blends Mencía and Trousseau from Valtuille, Bierzo. It was planted on clay soils in shaded parcels, aged in older barrels and whole-cluster fermented. The 2022 offers sanguine notes of red and dark fruit and a touch of herbs and mint. Firm, tense tannins highlight its fine-grained, juicy texture. It delivers intensity and depth with a compact structure.
The 2022 Ultreia Valtuille comes from different plots in the lieu-dit of Villegas. The wine has contained alcohol but has a roundness and a ripe sensation on the nose. They are using 25% foudres for the elevage here, and that percentage will be increased in the future. It has a medium to full-bodied palate with abundant, slightly dusty tannins. Some 4,800 bottles produced.