Julia Vinificación Singular 2021

The pale red 2021 Julia, named after José Antonio's wife, comes from a plot planted with a field blend of Mencía, quite a lot of Merenzao (Trousseau) and Godello, Alicante Bouschet, Palomino, Alicante and Malvasía on sand and gray slate in the village of Villafranca del Bierzo. The clusters of all the varieties together were foot trodden, pressed, fermented in foudre and matured in used 500-liter barrels for one year. It has a bright ruby color, a light to medium-bodied palate, moderate alcohol and ripeness and a very expressive nose with notes of wild berries and herbs. They first produced this wine in 2020. This is quite a breath of fresh air, elegant, ethereal and fresh, with a spicy twist, still a little marked by the élevage, but it should get integrated with a little more time in bottle. 3,500 bottles produced from 2.3 hectares.

Very old vines, planted between 1920 and 1940, go into this traditional field blend of Mencía and around 20% Godello, Doña Blanca, Palomino, Merenzao and other varieties. Whole bunch fermentation followed by fermentation in foudre and six to eight months in barrel produces a light, almost ethereal wine with beautiful rose petal and red cherry notes. Tomato vine and garrigue combine on the palate with just a hint of chocolate. A wonderfully refined expression of the vineyard and completely morish! 2024-26