Raul Perez Ultreia de Valtuille, Bierzo, Spain

勞爾佩雷斯阿特拉瓦圖伊紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：8743

The 2021 Ultreia Valtuille was produced with the clay part of their Villegas plot, as the sandy part was used for the new Ultreia Villegas bottling but introduced the lower part of the vineyard with more soil and more clay. They produced more or less the same amount as in previous years, some 18 barriques; but in 2021, they introduced foudres for part of the wine, and in this first year, the foudre was newer (they used it to ferment a white before). They also started renewing their barrels, so the wines show a little more oak than usual. It has moderate alcohol and mellow acidity, and it seems like the longer cycle and the slow ripening burned some acidity.

The 2020 Ultreia Valtuille is truly amazing and more so next to the unusual 2019. This is floral, expressive, fresh and balanced, with incredible elegance. There's a lot of precision here, they picked on exactly the right date, removed the white grapes, and the wine matured in barrique for five months and then in 1,000-liter oak foudre. The fine tannins show the finesse of the sandy soils. It's even a notch above the already other worldly 2018. Possibly the finest Ultreia Valtuille ever, with a moderate 12.7% alcohol. Bravo! 3,200 bottles produced.

The 2018 Ultreia Valtuille feels very young. Pérez explained that they used more new oak here because he thinks this is the most serious vintage of this wine ever and also his favorite. This is from a plot in Villegas on 100% sandy soils, and it's the twin plot to the Cepas Centenarias from Castro Ventosa, his family winery. As this was the first single-vineyard they produced, they called it simply Valtuille; but with the new classification, this should be called Villegas. This is serious and designed for the long run, subtle and elegant, with the profile of a grand cru, some baby fat and a touch of oak but with juicy tannins, gobsmacking balance and great length. Drink the 2018 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana while you wait for this. 2018 was a low-yielding year in this plot, and they got some 3,000 bottles from almost two hectares that have been organically farmed for some six years now. The first vintage was 2005, which was also bottled as Matador Raúl Pérez. This might change names in the future, as it might be confused with one of the new Vino de Villa.

There are only 1,000 bottles of the 2016 Ultreia Valtuille (the new name, as all labels have been simplified and cleaned up, and some of the names have even been shortened). The crop was greatly reduced because of mildew, and the grapes are a lot more concentrated, with more tannin and structure, and they had to do a much longer élevage, up to 24 months in barrique. Despite its concentration and power, it has great freshness and perfume. You don't find excess tannin, and it seems like the time in barrel has really polished the edges. It's really outstanding.

The 2014 Ultreia de Valtuille was very open and expressive, impressive too, with notes of freshness, blood orange, red cherries and also flowers (violets, lilies) and an earthy touch. It's elegant and complex, with very fine tannins and a velvety sensation. As with all the reds, the oak is unnoticeable, perfectly integrated and folded into the wine. 3,500 bottles were filled in November 2016.