spain

2014  Ribera Sacra

Organic/biodynamic Brancellao from RIbera Sacra in Galicia. " It's a light and pale-colored, subtle and aromatic red, with an ethereal palate where the fine-grained tannins are nicely balanced by refreshing acidity. This showcases the potential and elegance of Brancellao, a grape that was ignored for a very long time that still has quite a lot to say. With time it develops a slightly animal character that I've seen in other wines, and it's quite subtle and does not dominate; I wonder if it's inherent to the variety. I need a lot more experience with Brancellao, because it's a grape that is really starting... 3,800 bottles produced." - 93pts WA

2014  Ribera Sacra

Organic/Biodynamic Merenzao (Trousseau) from Ribera Sacra in Galicia. 167 cases produced.

2013  

"The 2013 Gratallops, their village wine, is a blend of 85% Garnacha and the rest Cariñena. The grapes were destemmed, lightly pressed and fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. The wine went through malo and 16 months aging in oak barrels. It might be suffering a bit of bottle shock. In this vintage, the Garnacha was so rich that the percentage of Cariñena is lower to maintain the fluidity of the wine. In this vintage I give the edge to Terrasses. 600 cases produced." - 92+pts WA

2010  Gran Reserva

Gran Reserva

2014  Sobre Lias

Grape: Godello -- Origin: Galicia, Spain -- Appellation: Valdeorras -- Alcohol by volume: 13.5% -- Features: Organic, Biodynamic -- About the product: This is the wine of the family. A complex wine made form the oldest Godello vines in the world put together to showcase the best that Valdeorras, Godello and Valdesil can make.

2006  Ribera del Duero Reserva

100% Tempranillo. They say the nose knows and here is proof... The big brother Cathar has an inviting, expressive nose of ripe berry, coffee & smoke that promises & delivers a big & full-bodied, chewy, classy Ribera with dense boysenberry fruit & a silky mouthfeel. Room to grow, best to decant for an hour.

2016  

"The second white is an homage to the old times when they added Sherry to it! The 2016 Monopole Clásico was produced with Viura grapes, but they added Manzanilla de Sanlúcar (produced with Palomino grapes) that was purchased from the same producer that always supplied the wine to top up the old bottlings of Monopole. It matured in used 300-, 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for around eight months. It has a deliciously nutty nose with clear notes of biological aging and a tasty, almost salty touch. This is a year with great freshness, which seems to add to the deliciousness of the wine. This is a wine for food. Ideally, this should be kept in bottle for two or three years, as the experience with white wines with flor develop nicely in bottle." - 93pts WA

2000  Reserva

2013  'Las Gundinas'

'Las Gundinas' -- La Vizcaina is Raul Perez's project, working with family vineyards in his hometown Valtuille de Abajo. The "cru concept" here is to use identical winemaking practices on wines made from different hillsides in the village: all are 100% whole cluster fermented in mostly large (but some small, as needed) old oak vessels. Aged 12 months in French barriques. Very small production. All the wines are labeled as 100% Mencia; but in fact very few vineyards planted before the 1990s are 100% Mencia. Located on the Camino de Santiago pilgrim's route to Santiago de Compostela, the Bierzo region is home to many different vine orphans that were brought as hostess gifts from regions throughout Europe. These include, but are not limited to: Alicante Bouschet, Merenzao (aka Trousseau), and Jerez (aka Palomino Fino). In order to avoid complications and confusion, the DO years ago turned a blind eye to this reality and permits winemakers to label predominately Mencia wines as 100% Mencia in order to take the Bierzo DO. Organically farmed. WA: 94

2005  Crianza Blanco

100% Viura. One of the most celebrated white Riojas produced. Liquid gold aged 4 years in barrel. 12.5% abv. Dry, Perfect with all kind of fish, no matter the way cooked. Grilled seafood. Well seasoned white meat. Also very nice with pasta. Rich, complex & developed aromas & flavors - nuts & stone fruits, herbs. Lopez de Heredia crafts this quintessential style of aged white wine, a nice move from aged Chardonnay or Bordeaux Blanc.

2010  Crianza

100% Mencia from a tiny northwestern region near Galicia. If you like Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc, you will love Manium! It has delicate and alluring perfume but it really delivers substance, style & structure for the price. An any day, everyday red that will work well with grilled steaks, portabellos & BBQ this Spring & Summer. Steeply terraced Bierzo is the latest DO in Spain to be enjoying renewed interest, investment and winemaking innovation. Recent improvements in producing Mencia have brought another spotlight to Spain's wine scene and wine lovers are appreciating the unique character that Mencia offers. The Manium has a crimson robe. 50-100 year old vines producing grapes with fine concentration. Aged in French oak for 12-14 months. Fresh & spicy, a dark core of blackberry & cassis is wound around bright red lively berry flavors, cranberry & strawberry with a touch of white pepper. medium to full-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Small production, approximately 2500 cases produced.

2020  Bierzo

"I was blown away by the 2020 wines in barrel in June 2021 and found the 2020 Villa de Corullón very ready, open, expressive, floral and ethereal. It destroyed the idea I had of a warm and ripe 2020. Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me he was thinking of bottling the 2020s earlier, as they didn't need a long élevage, just nine or 10 months in barrel. The wine is pale, the palest Corullón ever, with 13.7% alcohol—perhaps the vines got blocked and didn't develop more color compounds or sugar. The wine makes me think of a red from Jura; it has a different profile and is more delicate, ethereal and full of light and energy. Pérez, who hates comparisons with other regions, couldn't stop saying that it felt like a Morey Saint Denis! It's all flowers and red fruit, with lot of super fine tannins (the 2019 tannins are rougher) that are round and give it a velvety texture with no rusticity—elegant and balanced. There is a nice balance between tannin and acidity, something this has in common with the 2019, which makes the vintages quite unusual, because being warm, the wines show balance. Today it feels more like Moncerbal than the Moncerbal bottling; nevertheless, Corullón is around 40% from Moncerbal... It has to be my favorite Corullón to date. 22,183 bottles and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in October 2021." - 97pts WA