For fans of distinctive, thoughtfully-made wines that are naturally charming, Raul Perez is a winemaker to know! He has a seemingly innate winemaking talent and an intimate working knowledge of his vineyards in the Bierzo region of Northwestern Spain. His pricing is also very fair for what you get. That's why we're back again to rave about Raul's everyday drinker that eschews the everyday in every other way: the 2021 Ultreia "Saint Jacques" Bierzo Tinto!
For those of us who haven't been to this bucolic region, Bierzo is a transition point between the drier, sunnier interior of the country to the cooler, greener Atlantic coast. In contrast to the ubiquitous Tempranillo and Garnacha vines spread across Spain, this is home to unique grape varieties, like Mencia for red wines. Brought down from France centuries ago by pilgrims traveling to the Santiago de Compostela cathedral, Mencia makes wines that can have a stylistic overlap with familiar classics like Northern Rhone Syrah, Burgundian Gamay and Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. The best examples, like Raul Perez's Mencia-driven reds, carry a fairly generous amount of crushed velvet tannin and mellow inner vibrancy, along with a complex display of floral-tinged dark and red fruits (brambly blackberries and juicy crushed cherries) shaded by dark spice (incense, pepper, anise) and a minerality that can reminiscent of finely crushed stones.
Raul Perez is a champion for the old vineyards of his home region, and a key player in lifting Mencias and Bierzo from the shadows. His winemaking makes use of old-fashioned sensibilities: farming is done organically; sulfites are sparingly used to protect the wine; fermentation takes place in large oak vats with most of the grape clusters kept intact; and extraction from the grape skins takes place gently over 2 to 5 months. It's harder to work this way, but it gives the wines a more distinctive and layered personality. Look for the vibrant, crunchy-fruited aromas, a subtle spicy/herbaceous accent to the fruit, and naturally soft tannins that provide a sensual counterpoint to the wine's juiciness. The Ultreia "Saint Jacques" might be easy to drink, but it's some serious wine for the price!
WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "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."
For those of us who haven't been to this bucolic region, Bierzo is a transition point between the drier, sunnier interior of the country to the cooler, greener Atlantic coast. In contrast to the ubiquitous Tempranillo and Garnacha vines spread across Spain, this is home to unique grape varieties, like Mencia for red wines. Brought down from France centuries ago by pilgrims traveling to the Santiago de Compostela cathedral, Mencia makes wines that can have a stylistic overlap with familiar classics like Northern Rhone Syrah, Burgundian Gamay and Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. The best examples, like Raul Perez's Mencia-driven reds, carry a fairly generous amount of crushed velvet tannin and mellow inner vibrancy, along with a complex display of floral-tinged dark and red fruits (brambly blackberries and juicy crushed cherries) shaded by dark spice (incense, pepper, anise) and a minerality that can reminiscent of finely crushed stones.
Raul Perez is a champion for the old vineyards of his home region, and a key player in lifting Mencias and Bierzo from the shadows. His winemaking makes use of old-fashioned sensibilities: farming is done organically; sulfites are sparingly used to protect the wine; fermentation takes place in large oak vats with most of the grape clusters kept intact; and extraction from the grape skins takes place gently over 2 to 5 months. It's harder to work this way, but it gives the wines a more distinctive and layered personality. Look for the vibrant, crunchy-fruited aromas, a subtle spicy/herbaceous accent to the fruit, and naturally soft tannins that provide a sensual counterpoint to the wine's juiciness. The Ultreia "Saint Jacques" might be easy to drink, but it's some serious wine for the price!
WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "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."
Overall Rating
0 out of 5 Based on 0 Review
