This family winery located in Valtuille de Abajo, a town with a long-standing wine growing tradition in Bierzo, owns 12 hectares of old, goblet trained vines spread out throughout the village. Most of them were planted in the first half of the 20th century by Ramón Valle and Ramón Peique, grandfather and great-uncle respectively of the current generation at the head of the winery.
Many of their plots are located in sites like Mata Los Pardos or Cova de la Raposa, whose names are beginning to appear on the labels following the DO's new classification of parajes (lieux-dit). Mencía is the dominant grape variety, even though in old vineyards it is common to find small amounts of other varieties. At Peique, they also grow some Godello to produce white wine.
Peique made its market debut in the 1999 vintage with 10,000 bottles. Today, production is around 200,000 bottles. Young wines are still prominent, but aged reds have been gaining attention lately. The winery also produces a rosé (€6 in Spain) and a Godello aged on lees (€8.50). As is relatively common in Bierzo, Mencía grapes destined for young reds are sourced from fairly old vineyards – at Peique, they range from 45 to 55 years old. The same goes for Ramón Valle (€9), a red wine aged for seven months in French oak.
The premium range starts with Peique Viñedos Viejos (€18, about 8,000 bottles, 12 months in French oak), a Mencía that captures the character of the family's old vines and of the village itself. Peique Selección Familiar (€30), made from vines aged between 70 and 90 years old, shows more concentration.
Luis Peique (€44) is the winery's top wine. Made usually with partial whole bunches, it is fermented and aged in 500-litre barrels. The same winemaking philosophy is applied to the new vinos de paraje that follow the new classification of smaller geographical units approved by DO Bierzo. It includes Mata Los Pardos and Cova de la Raposa, first released in the 2018 vintage, and El Rapolao, launched in 2019. They started with just one barrel of each wine but in 2021 they have added another one to each wine and introduced a new paraje: Tesín de la Campana. Retail prices for all these wines stand at around €30 in Spain.
