"Far too expensive and anything but easy-drinking!"
That was recently the comment from our entire tasting committee when we once again subjected a sample sent to us to a blind tasting.
As the leading importer of Spanish wines, we are contacted almost daily by new Spanish wineries eager to entrust their liquid offspring to us for distribution in Belgium.
Most of them never get tasted, as they are not of interest, but even when we do sample bottles from a winery that initially seems promising, 95% are rejected.
Are we being difficult? Not at all. It just has to be really good 😉…
Why this introduction, which illustrates our working method in a
clickbait-like way? Well, quite simply, because today I want to introduce you to
the complete opposite!
Delicious, unique, pure, mineral-driven, and incredibly tasty, and on top of that, very affordable!!
Which wine am I talking about?
Made by
Cesar, the nephew of Raúl Pérez, at the family estate
Castro Ventosa.
I recently tasted this at a tasting and was incredibly impressed.
This is the village wine from this renowned estate, where it all began for Raúl Pérez. The "village" in question is Valtuille de Abajo. This wine is a blend of different vineyards and grape varieties, primarily Mencía, with some Tintorera, Bastardo, and Palomino.
But what a fantastic glass!
I admit: for my private cellar, I usually collect a few bottles of their Grand Cru wines, such as
Vitoriana,
Cepas Centenarias,
Rapolao, or
Villegas. Often with a "grand cru price tag"…
But this wine for less than 20 euros? I immediately kept 12 bottles for myself. This wine is fantastic to drink now but can age incredibly well for another 10 years.
So refined, elegant, mineral, almost ethereal Atlantic.
This wine has never been this good.
Apparently, Parker tasted what I tasted:
94/100
"The village red 2021 Valtuille Vino de Villa is a blend of different vineyards that were vinified separately—Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Trousseau, and other whites. It fermented with 30% full clusters in oak vats for 60 days with indigenous yeasts and matured in 225-, 400-, and 500-liter used barrels for 12 months. It has 12.97% alcohol and great balance and freshness, with a tender mouthfeel and a certain lightness. It has the finesse and the more elegant tannins of the year. 12,000 bottles produced."
Before they're all gone: