Ultreia, La Claudina, Bierzo, 2021
Produced from a relatively flat 0.5HA parcel of vines with a south-south east orientation on sandy soils in Valtuille, La Claudina is a warm site producing wines with roundness and complexity. The vines are now 50 years old. Ordinarily Raul encourages a layer of flor to develop over the wine but this is harder to achieve in vintages with a low pH. Production averages just 1,500-2,000 bottles a year. The 2021 is bristling and juicy, not a wine of fruit per se, more stony and savoury with a grip, bitter twist and balancing freshness. La Claudina sees no topping up, no malo and no batonage and is bottled after a year in barrel.
critic reviews
There is a smoky twist in the 2021 Ultreia La Claudina, a low-yielding vintage, from a plot in Valtuille on sandy soils. The grapes struggled to ripen, and the wine has a more austere profile than the wines from yesteryear, when it was a lot more exotic and exuberant but with a spicy twist that they reckon comes from the foudre used. It's from one of the oldest plots from the newer plantings in the 1980s. 1,300 bottles produced.