Valtuille Cepas Centenarias, Bodegas Castro Ventosa 2019

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. Drink 2022-2035.

Made from 85% Mencia with the remainder a blend of local varieties, just 3500 botles of this wine are made each year. First made in 1999 from 100+ year old vines that produce fewer than 4 bunches per vine. Hand harvested and whole bunch fermented in large foudres with a 60 day maceration, the wine is matured in old oak barrels for a year before bottling. Bright ruby colour in the glass. Silky, succulent red fruits and a seductive dark cherry note mingle with bright, freshly ground pepper on the nose here. The palate is bright, with chalky and refined tannins, providing a fine-grained structure that props up layers of blueberry and fleshy red fruit. Cured meat, dried herbs and powerful fruit come together with superb precision. Long, elegant and refined to the finish.