Castro Ventosa Valtuille ‘Cepas Centenarias’ 2019

Valtuille ‘Cepas Centenarias’ 2019 96+WA
Castro Ventosa
Bierzo, Spain

$74.99 on 4+ mix & match ok (code 4saves5)
$79.99 reg

100% Mencia
Vineyards: 580 meters above sea level, 4,000 to 7,000 vines /ha, south-facing.
Soil Type: Sand and chalk
Vine Age: 100+ years old
Fermentation: Whole cluster

Cepas Centeneria, or 'centenary vines', comes from pre-phylloxera vineyards, mainly sandy soil. The local grape Mencia is used to make this wine, to which 5% Bastardo and 2% others local grapes were also added as a finishing touch. The grapes were handpicked at optimum ripeness, long maceration and fermented in French oak barrels, 100% full cluster fermentation with indegenous yeasts. Aged for just over 12 months in used 228 liter French oak barrels. No filtration, 3 500 bottles made.

98 pts Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Luis Gutierrez)
The 2019 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias comes from a single plot of ancient vines that could qualify as Vino de Paraje and in the future as Vino de Viña, but they are never going to do it because it's their traditional name and label and one of the most consistent wines from the winery. It is made with field blend with lots of different grapes on clay and sand soils. It fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts with a long 60-day maceration and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels (but, in the future, they might move to oval oak foudres) for one year. It has the violets and the perfume from the 2018 vintage but with more dimension, more layers and depth. A stellar performance in 2019 (again!). 3,500 bottles produced, what the plot delivered. It was bottled in June 2021.