Castro Ventosa

Recent Reviews from the Wine Advocate

“Castro Ventosa is the winery of Raúl Pérez's family. They are adapting to the new categories from the Bierzo appellation. They are focusing on their vineyards and regrafting some Merenzao now that is accepted by the DO. They are also turning their style toward more freshness in the wines, going for larger barrels; they have always had a very traditional profile. In the near future, there will be a new bottling from La Vitoriana, one of the most prestigious lieux-dits, from 2018. All of the 2018s have a lower alcoholic degree (all around 13.5%, when it was previously 14.5%) and feel very pure and clean, with better-integrated oak. Production varies widely depending on the vintage, between 150,000 and 250,000 bottles.” Luis Gutiérrez The Wine Advocate 30 June 2020

“At Castro Ventosa they are separating the plots to have more precision, and they have a new top-of-the-range red called La Vitoriana. The wines have less alcohol, less ripeness and less oak, and they are cleaner and more focused. They own 80 to 85 hectares from the 500 hectares in the village of Valtuille, so they don’t buy a singe grape (and they don’t sell any either.)” Luis Guiterez: The Wine Advocate, Annual Report January 2022

2019 Godello El Castro de Valtuille 92+ Pts

The white 2019 El Castro de Valtuille Godello comes from three plots in some of the cooler vineyards in the village of Valtuille and Vellafranca del Bierzo. It had a 24-hour maceration and then fermented in 225-, 500-, and 700-liter oak barrels, where it matured with indigenous yeasts (like all whites here) for one year with the lees, topping the barreles up and without any batonnage. It was taken away from the barrels just before the following harvest. It’s balanced and fresh, with 12.5% alcohol and a velvety sensation on the palate. 5,000 bottles produced.

2018 godello El Castro de Valtuille 92 pts

One of two whites produced here, the 2018 El Castro de Valtuille Godello is made with grapes from four plots—three in Valtuille and one in Villafranca—on clay, sand and quartzite soils. Godello is always destemmed, and this fermented and matured in 225-, 500- and 700-liter oak barrels, where it stays until one week before the next harvest without stirring the lees or anything. In principle, the whites do not undergo malolactic. It's very balsamic and expressive, with aromas of pollen and beeswax, a touch of camphor and dry yellow flowers (think chamomile) with some spicy undertones. The oak is used, and the idea is that it's quite neutral. It's a lively white with fresh and focused flavors, good volume and a tasty finish. 4,900 bottles were filled in November 2019.

2018 godello Valtuille 93 pts

The 2018 Valtuille Godello comes from a specific plot in the village of Valtuille that also contributes to the white El Castro de Valtuille; the wines share some of the same aromatic descriptors—balsamic, pollen, beeswax and camphor—but the nose here is more refined, subtler and finer. This is produced in larger barrels, and it is a barrel selection of the wine produced. It has a soft palate with a velvety texture, pungent flavors and a long finish. It has not been produced since 2014, because they didn't have enough grapes. In 2018, they had more plots for the other white and also resumed making this this wine, which was only produced in 2013 and 2014 before. 900 bottles were filled in November 2019.

2017 godello El Castro de Valuille 91 pts

Contrary to what you might expect from the earliest harvest ever, the 2017 El Castro de Valtuille Godello was sharp and had good nerve, which came as a surprise. Raúl Pérez explained he believes 2017 is the best year he's seen for whites. These Godello grapes from sandy soil produce more austere wines. The destemmed grapes had a 24-hour maceration and then were pressed; the juice fermented with indigenous yeasts in 700-liter oak barrels, where the wine stays without being racked. 1,800 bottles were filled in November 2018.

2016 godello El Castro de Valtuille 90+ pts

The 2016 El Castro de Valtuille Godello comes from the Villafranca del Castillo zone on sandy soils. They had grapes for two 700-liter oak barrels. The wine has notes of chamomile and aniseed with an austere palate. Raúl Pérez believes Godello does better in the sandy soils than in clay, as it tends to deliver more exuberant, tropical aromas. With time in the glass, it developed a subtle note of condensed milk. 1,800 bottles produced.

2015 godello El CaSTRo de Valtuille 91 pts

I only tasted one white this time: the 2015 El Castro de Valtuille Godello, a blend of three different vineyards—one of sandy soils (Valtuille) and two on clay (Villafranca and Cacabelos). The whole clusters were pressed, the must left overnight to clarify and then fermented in 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine was kept with no bâtonnage or racking. The oak is neatly integrated and folded into the fruit, which is perfectly ripe, clean and focused. 2015 was harvested quickly and early and it has low alcohol. There is tension, great freshness and very tasty, with a long, saline finish. 3,000 bottles were filled in December 2016.

2020 Mencia “Joven” (Rabbit Label) 90 pts

The 2020 Joven fermented in stainless steel and matured for one to 3 months un used 5,000-liter oak vats - all the parajes separately - and was then blended into one wine. It’s varietal and fresh, showing the juicy character of the clay soils from Valtuille. It’s more fruit-driven, more grapey. 8,300 cases produced. This is 85% to 90% of the volume of the winery.

2018 mencia El Castro de Valtuille Joven 91+ pts

The 2018 El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven was produced from seven or eight parajes from the village of Valtuille, a selection from the family vineyards that is given a few months in the 5,000-liter oak vats that help polish it, and the resulting wine is more relaxed. This is a Mencía that overdelivers for its price, especially in a year like 2018. It's medium-bodied, nuanced, floral and more sublte than the unoaked Castro Ventosa (pink label), with fine tannins and a serious finish. This is a bargain, an old-vine cuvée at an incredible price. 100,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2019

2019 Mencia Valtuille (CASTLE LABEL) 92 pts

The 2019 Valtuille is a young blend of six or seven different zones from the village. It fermented with 10-15% in stainless and the balance in aged oak foudres, and matured in well-seasoned barrels (mostly 225-liter but with some larger ones) for one year. It’s floral, perfumed and very clean; they have renewed all of the barrels (whih are at least fourth use), and the wine feels more precise and clean. 6,000 bottles produced.

2018 mencia Valtuille 91 pts

A new Mencía bottling, the 2018 Castro Ventosa Valtuille wants to be the eponymous wine from the winery, a range in between the El Castro de Valtuille Mencía Joven and the El Castro de Valtuille in price. The base could be similar to the Vintage, with some other plots added in; it fermented with 20% full clusters and matured in used 225-liter oak barrels and a slightly more modern and clean profile. It has the finesse and the polished tannins that showcase the 2018 vintage—fine and elegant wines. It's like a more refined version of the vintage. There are 7,500 bottles of this 2018, the second vintage produced. It was bottled in May 2020.

2018 Mencia El Castro de Valtuille “Crianza” 93 pts

The very recently bottled 2018 El Castro de Valtuille is serious, a little closed but nuanced and layered, with the insinuating perfume of the great Mencías, produced with field blends from the old vineyards in the village of Valtuille, Garnacha Tintorera, Trousseau (Merenzao or Bastardo) and even some whites. This fermented with 50% full clusters in 5,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts (they don't spend a cent on yeasts here) and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for around one year. It has the profile of a grand vin, but it is sold at a very affordable price. It has a vibrant palate, with great freshness and very fine tannins, clean, long, tasty, clean... 7,000 bottles were filled in May 2020.

2017 mencia El Castro de Valtuille Crianza 91 pts

Mildew filled the 2016 vintage, so they jumped to the 2017 El Castro de Valtuille, a year that was not easy—it was very warm and dry and suffered frost. This fermented with 50% full clusters in stainless steel with a shorter maceration given the natural concentration of the grapes. This is already produced like the top ranges, with no pumps and very gentle handling in the winery. This comes from three parajes from the village, all old vines and thus a field blend where Mencía is the majority, but there are also small percentages of other grapes. It's polished and more developed, with abundant tannins that are going to require some hearty food. This is the only oaked red that they produced in 2017. 6,500 bottles. It was bottled in December 2018.

2019 Mencia Valtuille “Vino de Villa” 94 pts

The first vintage to have the new official category on the label is the 2019 Valtuille Vino de Villa, and it’s a barrel selection of barrels from the centenary vines and Vellegas, El Val and some La Rata; three zones they like. This is the new focus of the winery; it’s a very serious red, with volume and depth. It fermented in oak vats with 40% full clusters with the field blend and matured in 225- and 5-00-liter oak barrels. Its has the rainy mouthfeel from the stems. It has more structure and ripeness but with grate balance and moderate alcohol, really representing the village and the year. 12,000 bottles produced.

single-vineyard rarities from pre-phylloxera vines

2019 Mencia Valtuille Cepas Centenarias 98 pts

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 Villa, 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 2019 vintage but with more dimension, more layers and depth. A stellar performance in 2019 (again!). 3,500 bottles produced, what the plot delivered.

2018 mencia Valtuille Cepas Centenerias 97+ pts

The floral 2018 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias is the next vintage after the 2015, as no 2016 or 2017 could be produced. This has a Northern Rhône nose that mixes violets and smoked meat, very showy. The palate is seamless and refined, with very fine, silky tannins. Like many of their wines, 2018 could very well be the finest vintage of this wine to date. This has much lower alcohol (13.2%) and more acidity. In 2018, they used all the white grapes from one of the plots, which could be a significant 6% of white grapes, and also some 5% Merenzao, so the wine is somewhat more fluid and nuanced. The two plots used for this wine are in the paraje of Matalospardos in Valtuille. This is the most complete and complex of the 2018s. 3,500 bottles and 36 magnums were filled in early May 2020.

2015 mencia Valtuille Cepas Centenerias 96+ pts

I was very pleasantly surprised by the elegance and balance of the 2015 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias, centenary Mencía from two plots in the village of Valtuille. This is always one of the finest wines in the portfolio, but this 2015 was especially harmonious, combining aromas of violets and wild herbs with an earthy touch and a medium-bodied palate with very refined tannins that made it beautifully textured. There is an extra degree of complexity here and it has the depth of the very old vines. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this bottling. There are 3,500 bottles of it.

2014 mencia valtuille Cepas Centenerías 96 pts

Following the subtle, elegant and floral profile of the vintage, the 2014 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias is always sourced from a south-facing vineyard in the Villegas zone of the village of Valtuille de Abajo, where the soils have a sandy texture and provide for fine, elegant wines. They used 100% full clusters for the fermentation in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, and then matured the wine in used 228-liter oak barrels. The oak does not have an aromatic role in any of the reds. This combines the floral with some characteristics, earthy and developing notes of cypress, smoked meat and a Rhôneish twist. It has some earthy tannins too, coupled with moderate alcohol and great freshness. This is one of the first vineyards to be harvested, as it ripens early, and has contained alcohol. This is a very regular wine, vintage after vintage. This has to be the finest vintage for this bottle. 3,500 bottles were filled in November 2016.

2019 Mencia Valtuille La Cova de la Raposa 93+ pts

The south-facing and sunny 2019 La Cova de la Raposa is always the first plot to be harvested, and the wine has a juicier and riper personality. This has more concentration and more tannin and is not as expressive on he nose as the 2018; it feels a bit more serious and backward and should repay some extra time in bottle. 1,100 bottles produced.

2018 mencia valtuille La Cova de la Raposa 94 pts

2016 was a year of mildew, and 2017 suffered frost. So, most of the single-vineyard bottlings jump from 2015 to 2018. Such is the case with the 2018 Valtuille La Cova de la Raposa, even though this is one of their warmest and ripest vineyards, a pure south-facing plot that was picked early this year (despite always being the first to be harvested). Perhaps the other big change is that, starting with the 2018 vintage, this matured exclusively in 500-liter oak barrels (it was mostly 225-liter barriques in the past). The extra freshness of the vintage, the earlier harvest and the larger barrels delivered a fresher and lighter wine with lower alcohol, despite being the most exuberant wine, with raspberries rather than violets. This is medium-bodied on the palate and refined, with integrated oak and no heat, and it feels brighter, with more light and more fluid. This could very well be the most elegant La Cova de la Raposa produced to date. 1,300 bottles were filled in May 2020.

2015 mencia valtuille La Cova de la Raposa 93 pts

There was a volatile whiff in the 2015 Valtuille La Cova de la Raposa that somehow lifted it up. This is a south-facing plot, not that common in Valtuille, with compacted sandy soils where ripeness can be high and tends to be the first plot to be harvested. So the challenge here is to keep the freshness. It has a profile that reminded me of a powerful red from the Douro in Portugal. There are some dusty tannins that might require some time in bottle and/or powerful food. Some 900 bottles.

2019 Mencia Valtuille Rapolao 96 pts

The 2019 Valtuille El Rapolao, now a Vino de Paraje, fermented with 100% full clusters with a long maceration and matured in well-seasoned, neutral 500-liter oak barrels (which might be eight years old now), the modus operandi for all of the single-vineyard reds. It’s perfumed and heady, as it comes from a plot that also has some fruit trees, in a v-shape, planted along with some 8% Malvasia grapes that have been added since 2018 and have given it finesse. It’s more exuberant on the nose, something that seems to define this wine that is quite unique and different from its siblings. Its medium-bodied with around 13% alcohol; winemaker Cesar Marquez feels that when these wines are riper than 13.5% they are too rustic. 1,200 bottles produced.

2018 mencia valtuille Rapolao 96+ pts

The 2018 Valtuille El Rapolao, like the rest of the single-vineyard wines, has not been bottled separately since 2015. This comes from the coolest paraje of Valtuille, as it gets the sun for one full hour after the rest of vineyards of the village. This was harvested early and matured exclusively in 500-liter oak barrels; it has lower alcohol and is more elegant than the 2014 and 2015. This was a little closed at first and needed some time in the glass to open up. It's a more floral and refined version of Villegas, with more layers, more depth and complexity. There's no rusticity here, which was in the character of the 2014 and 2015. Impressive!

2015 mencia Valtuille Rapolao 95 pts

Located in a cooler part of Valtuille, El Rapolao is a vineyard that is bottled by a number of different producers, mostly from the circle of influence of Raúl Pérez. The 2015 Valtuille El Rapolao fermented with full clusters in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in well-seasoned, neutral 500-liter oak barrels. As with all old vineyards, the Mencía is interplanted with other varieties, like Estaladiña, Garnacha Tintorera and Souson, which might add to the tension the wine has, something that is especially remarkable in a warm and dry year like 2015. The palate has power and very good freshness, more elegant and with less rusticity despite its earthy touch. 2015 yielded well and there are some 1,700 bottles of it.

2014 mencia valtuille Rapolao 95 pts

Sourced from a zone within Valtuille that has already been bottled by Raúl Pérez and Diego Magaña, the first bottling from Castro Ventosa is the 2014 Valtuille El Rapolao from very old vines, planted with a mixture of varieties, mainly Mencía but also with others like Estaladiña, Garnacha Tintorera and Souson. It fermented with 100% full clusters in 5,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts. This vineyard tends to produce elegant and fresh wines, a character that seems amplified by the character of the year. There is an herbal twist that provides freshness, intermixed with earthy notes. There are some dusty tannins, fine grained, balanced, tasty and long. Very elegant and balanced, with all that is needed to develop nicely in bottle. Some 1,100 bottled in December.

2019 Mencia Valtuille Villegas 96+ pts

The Vino de Paraje 2019 Valtuille Villegas comes from a plot by Raul Perez’s house in the outskirts of Valtuille, so a single-vineyard bottling that might qualify for such category after five years of traceability. The plot has more sand and very old vines and is a shadowed zone. The wine fermented with 100% full clusters in oak vats and matured in used 500-liter oak barrels. It has the finesse and perfume of the sandy soils, elegant and fresh,, with very fine-grained tannins. 1,000 bottles produced.

2018 mencia valtuille Villegas 96 pts

The 2018 Valtuille Villegas had not been produced since 2015 and there is a big jump in precision and freshness: it's not just three years, it's three years of fine-tuning the work in the vineyards and winery. It fermented in a 3,000-liter oak vat with 100% full clusters and matured in two 225-liter oak barrels and one 500-liter oak barrel. This is perfumed and gravitates more toward Burgundy; it's elegant and long, with "only" 12.8% alcohol. It has very polished tannins and the inherent elegance of the sandy soils. It's perhaps lighter and doesn't have the complexity of the Cepas Centenarias, but it's really impressive. A Villegas of finesse. 1,300 bottles were filled in May 2020.