César Márquez Pérez – Pico Ferreira 2021

Wine Advocate: 96+ (årgång 2021)

The super elegant and fresh 2021 Pico Ferreira comes from northeast-facing ancient vines in the village of Corullón on shallow slate soils that deliver small bunches. Each of the plots fermented separately with their own yeasts with 50% full clusters and 45 days of maceration, and the wine matured in a combination of 500- and 600-liter oak barrels for around one year. It has a harmonious and elegant palate with 12.92% alcohol and fine-grained tannins. It is serious, with tension and the stony feeling from the slate soils. This has more depth and complexity than the 2020—more serious. 1,504 bottles were filled in December 2022.

César Márquez Pérez, Raúl Pérez’s nephew, has consolidated himself as one of the most precise winemakers in Bierzo with the family Castro Ventosa range and his personal project, which he started in 2015. This year, he showed me a new white from El Val, which is one of the coolest places in Valtuille and very good for Godello. He owns a total of 5.5 hectares of vineyards and works with a further seven hectares from growers in the zone, with vineyards at different altitudes, ranging from 450 to 780 meters above sea level. He ages his single-vineyard wines in 1,200-liter oak vats and 500- and 600-liter barrels and now produces a total of 45,000 bottles.