La Vizcaina by Raul Perez La Vitoriana Tinto 2016
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Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Winemaker Notes
A blend of mostly Mencia with Bastardo (Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) , Dona Blanca and Palomino.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The vines at La Vitoriana are from a north-facing part of the vineyard and are extremely old, and the grapes show their best between 13% and 13.5% alcohol. The maceration of the 2016 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana is the longest of all wines from La Vizcaína wines, and it always has very strong balsamic notes. It's subtle and elegant with a velvety texture, with lots of energy and inner strength. Pérez selects about half of the vineyard, and he feels 2016 is the year that best represents the character of the place. I'd add it's probably the best vintage so far.
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Decanter
Perez left the family business in 2001 and launched the Ultreia range in 2005, with rapid success. As a result of the demand, he says, ‘I did not want to put up prices, so I started the Vizcaína project that wasn't parcel-based and could supply greater volumes.’ He selected four of his family's vineyards that he most liked. The 0.9ha La Vitoriana is the oldest (130 years, own rootstocks) and the most complex. Shaped like a halfpipe in profile, it has three different orientations. The facing slopes are only separated by 80m but harvest takes place two weeks apart. The wine, a Mencia field blend, has lightly smoky aromas with light cherry fruit. On the palate there's a delicate, fine texture to the tannins and a long, elegant finish. Drinking Window 2019 – 2024
Other Vintages
2021-
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Robert
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Wine &
Spirits
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Wine
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Robert
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La Vizcaina is a relatively new project from Raul Purez that explores the hillside crus around his hometown of Vatuille de Abajo. Four reds and one white are produced under the name, all from vines with over fifty years of average age. Though all the red wines Raul produces in the Bierzo D.O. are labelled as 100% Mencía, they all in fact contain significant quantities of other local grapes.
The rich varietal diversity found in Galicia is due in large part to the famous Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James in the town of Santiago de Compostela, the earliest references to which date back to the 9th century. The monks who made the journey would often carry vine cuttings from their home regions in their packs to offer as gifts to the Spanish monasteries that would put them up along the way. This is certainly the explanation for the preponderance of Trousseau found throughout northwestern Spain.
Primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions of Spain and in the Dão of Portugal (where it is called Jaen), Mencia is an early ripening, low acid grape that can produce wines of great concentration, complexity and ageability. And yet Mencia once suffered from a poor reputation and deemed capable of producing simple and light red wines. Post-phylloxera growers would grow this variety on low, fertile plains, which produced high yields and uncomplicated finished wines. Somm Secret—The recent rediscovery of the ancient, abandoned vines planted on rugged hillsides of deep schist has unveiled the potential of Mencia and added discredit to its old reputation.
One of the few northwestern Spanish regions with a focus on a red variety, Bierzo, part of Castilla y León, is home to the flowery and fruity Mencia grape. Mencia produces balanced and bright red wines full of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, baking spice, pepper and black licorice. The well-drained soils of Bierzo are slate and granite.