You know it, we are big fans of our “wine gnome” from Bierzo.
Raúl has it all: knowledge, passion, charm, and above all a no-nonsense approach that makes him widely appreciated and a great partner to work with.
Which can sometimes be a bit of an issue for someone who never says “no”…
Luckily, he also has his own project, his own vineyards, where he controls everything from start to finish.
His top cru, “Villegas”, is located right next to his house, among the vineyards in the small village of Valtuille de Abajo. Both the family estate Castro Ventosa (Valtuille Villegas) and his own project under the name “Ultreia” have vineyards here. These are rolling hills with sandy soils.
As you may have heard from our other Bierzo wines, 2023 is a truly outstanding vintage.
For us, one of the great years of the region, and this across all our producers: Castro Ventosa, Verónica Ortega, Descendientes de J.Palacios, La Vizcaina and of course Raúl himself with his Ultreia.
If you enjoy top Burgundy or top Syrah, and everything in between, you are very much in the right style category here…
Also Luis Gutiérrez for R. Parker fully agrees, awarding this Villegas Cru 2023 an impressive 97/100.
“The 2023 Ultreia Villegas is similar to the Ultreia Valtuille but very perfumed and perhaps a little more jovial and with more grip. This comes from the part of the lieu-dit that gets more sun and has very sandy soils that deliver elegant wines. Only 600 bottles produced.”
Out of these 600 bottles produced,
we have 60 bottles available for Belgium.