93pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The biggest volume of the winery is the 2021 Ultreia Saint Jacques, which represents some 170,000 bottles, and according to Raúl Pérez, it's the most difficult wine to make here. They now work a lot to produce this wine, a blend of 11 wines selected from the 17 they made. It's a wine that represents Bierzo and is from a year when they used more grapes from sandy soils. It has 13.16% alcohol and a pH of 3.66; it's serious and restrained but juicy and easy to drink. Seventy percent of the wine matured in barrel and the rest in troncoconic oak vats.

91pts Wine Spectator

Crushed blackberry and boysenberry fruit is dark and ripe in this red, accented by hints of dried lavender, woodsy spices and a subtle underpinning of loamy earth and mineral. Fresh, with light, creamy tannins.

Tasting Notes

Floral, spicy aromas with hints of underbrush. Juicy, well-structured red fruit with great vibrancy and length on the palate. A long finish is marked by hints of herbs, coffee bean, and tomato leaf.

Winemaker Notes

Raúl Pérez produces the superb white wine 'Ultreia' Godello from three sites that combine estate-owned and bought in grapes. The estate-owned vineyards are in the eastern part of Bierzo planted on schist and clay soils with vines averaging 30-35 years old. Harvest here takes place a full 20 days later than in Valtuille, yielding grapes with high natural acidity and providing excellent blending material. Grapes are purchased from Cacabelos which is located on deeper clay-stony soils and from Valtuille where the vineyards have a higher percentage of sand. All plots are fermented in oak tank and assembled just before bottling. Ageing takes place in barrels of various sizes and ages. The estate owned fruit is aged in the Ultreia cellar where a small layer of flor is allowed to develop. Bottling takes place after 12 months with no racking or battonage. This is a fresh, well balanced expression of Godello with ripe citrus, red apples and blossom notes. The palate is vibrant and fresh with an explosion of fruit flavours. It has brilliant acidity and with a touch of slate / stoniness the wine finishes crisp and refreshing.

Blend: A mencía-dominant field blend with Bastardo (Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet), Palomino, Doña Blanca and more.