James Suckling (98/100)
A bierzo with great depth and soft-spoken complexity, but still upbeat, effusing a mineral twist to the smoked herbs, iron, raw meat, black cherries, blueberries, dried botanicals, violets and slate. Medium to full body with an ethereal and layered mid-palate that leads to a super-long, lingering finish. The tannins are so dusty and polished. From organically grown grapes.
R. Parker (97+/100)
This is always the ripest of the wines, and in 2020 it's no exception: the 2020 Las Lamas is 14.5% alcohol. But what's important is that it doesn't show—it doesn't feel ripe or warm. In fact, this feels fresher and more harmonious and lively than the Moncerbal; it DOES need ripeness. It's very expressive and very Lamas, more Mediterranean and really what it is. It's juicy and peachy, very velvety, with round and glossy tannins but without being heavy. It's very balanced and shows a certain freshness, but it's a rich wine. It's now certified organic. 6,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2021 in a break from the long 2021 harvest.
They are bottling the wines from Bierzo earlier than ever, so I already tasted the 2020s in bottle for the region's article at the end of January 2022. I include those notes here for the completeness of the article, but now I only tasted the unbottled 2021s, from a very different year, which, according to Ricardo Pérez Palacios, was the most challenging year so far, a year when Mencía wouldn't ripen! I had already tasted some of those 2021s before, and back then, even if the wines were going through full malolactic, the Moncerbal already shone and felt to be among the finest vintages for this paraje.
2021 was an atypical year, cooler but with a warm and dry end of the season. They harvested some grapes at the end of August and then they had to stop ... because the grapes wouldn't ripen! So, Pétalos is only 13.5% alcohol. Some wines have a reductive character; it was a cooler and dry year, and the wines showed that character, continental and cold, despite the heat in July and August. The wines are juicy and aromatic, a lot fresher than they anticipated. The wines have contained alcohol (all around 13.5%) and a narrower profile. It should be a long-lived vintage, perhaps not as juicy as the 2018s, but with very good balance and freshness.
Decanter (96/100)
They call Las Lamas a 'vino de montaña' - mountain wine - with vines growing at up to 700m on clay soils. The overall effect is sumptuous; even in its youth it jumps from the glass offering cranberries and redcurrants. The entry to the mouth is smooth, supple and rounded, exploding with the flavours promised by the aromatics. The finish is clean, with firm tannin layered with freshness. From year to year my preference changes between Moncerbal and Las Lamas. This year Las Lamas is definitely on top. Watch it as it ages beautifully. Gran Viña Classificada.
Guía Peñin (95/100)
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