2017 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana by Raúl Pérez is a cerebral and textured expression of Mencía from a cool, north-facing site in Bierzo. Darker, riper fruit—think wild strawberry and a touch of chocolate—meets earthy tones and tightly knit tannins. There's elegance beneath the power, with light oak and zesty acidity giving it structure. A hint of Brett adds complexity without distraction. Drinking well now through 2026, it's a layered, thought-provoking wine from old vines dating back to 1881.

The Wine Advocate | RP 94
Published: Jun 30, 2020
Drink: 2020-2026

The 2017 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana has depth and power, inherent to the vineyard, a cool site that behaves well in a warm year like 2017, but in 2017 I still prefer El Rapolao. The fruit is a little darker and riper without excess (it's all relative when you compare, and sometimes comparisons are tedious...), as the cooler exposition takes the warmer weather better. It's textured and serious. 6,300 bottles were filled, as the north-facing exposures like this escaped the frost of the 2017 spring. It as bottled in May 2019.

Raúl Pérez has finished his new winery for his Ultreia St Jacques, and he vinified the 2019 there already. For the whites, they are moving toward 2,500-liter oak foudres, slowly leaving from smaller oak containers, and they are doing something similar with the reds.

2017 was a weird vintage. As they saw the hot weather, they started harvesting on the 15th of August, earlier than ever, and thus avoided high alcohol, but the vegetative cycle was one month shorter. The wines are quite drinkable now, but the question mark is about the aging potential of the wines. The whites might be a little more tropical (not here), but they have low alcohol and were harvested at the right time.

He cannot find a vintage to compare with 2018, perhaps 2001 and 2008, but he thinks 2018 is the most complete, with the harvesting dates of yesteryear and moderate alcohol. He thinks 2008 is similar, but the wines were hard and took time, while 2018 delivered wines that are harmonious and approachable early on. 2018 is the best vintage he has known in Bierzo. Full stop. I tasted the 2017s and 2018s from his La Vitoriana range, and the styles are radically different: the 2017s are darker even though they had a shorter maceration, and the 2018s are lighter colored after a longer maceration. But the more ripeness and alcohol you have, the more you extract. In 2019, the whole Vizcaína range is in 500-liter barrels and foudre, while they still had some 225-liter barrels in 2017 and 2018.

The initial idea about 2019 was that it was going to be a year of power with hard tannins, and they did longer macerations trying to polish the tannins. They now think it might be a year to drink early on, warmer rather than cold. But the wines are still developing in oak, and it's too early to say.

Decanter | D 92
Published: Raúl Pérez: Latest releases tasted and rated
Drink: 2022-2027

La Vitoriana vineyard is north-facing and located at 600m in the Bierzo village of Valtuille. Its precious 0.9 hectares of vines date back to 1881 and are still planted on original Pie Franco rootstocks thanks to the higher proportion of sand in the upper section of the vineyard. Leafy, enigmatic and complex, courtesy both the aspect and the altitude, this is a slow burning classic. I discerned a little Brettanomyces initially, but not such as to dimmish its cerebral appeal; thereafter wild strawberries, chocolate and hints of sous bois, the tannins tightly knit and the finish clean. Intriguing…
Closure: Natural Cork
Alcohol: 13.50%
Body: Medium
Oak: Lightly Oaked
Grapes: 100% Mencía