91pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The just-bottled 2019 El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven is perfectly relaxed, aromatic and open, a preview of what the 2019s are going to be like, a very good vintage, without reaching the heights of 2018, which has been one of the finest vintages in the recent history of Bierzo. It has perhaps a little more tannin than 2018 and is a little more rustic. There will be some 100,000 bottles of this, as they do 15,000-bottle lots, and I tasted a bottle from the first lot bottled in May 2020.

Winemaker Notes

Widely considered to be one of the world’s most visionary winemakers, Raul Perez produced his first vintage for his family’s winery in 1994 at the age of 22. He has received endless accolades and recognition from wine critics, publications and connoisseurs worldwide, but Raul's genius is far exceeded by his humility, which many believe comes through in his wines. His wines are not “winemaker” wines so much as they are unadulterated expressions of the villages and vineyards from which they hail. A blend of 3 distinct parcels of old vine Mencia located in Bierzo, Vino de la Villa' is one such expression. Each vineyard has a small percentage of other grapes that grow alongside and are co-fermented with the Mencia, contributing depth, complexity and intrigue. A full-bodied and serious wine, exuding an enticing bouquet of spice blackberries, raspberries, wild herbs and black licorice and supported by powerful but well-integrated tannins and wrapped up neatly with a pleasant, lengthy, crushed gravel-driven finish. Serve alongside pastrami sandwiches or grilled artichokes with Timut pepper aioli.