Bierzo is one of the most exciting regions in the Spanish wine scene. Its allure can be attributed, in part, to its strategic location nestled in the northwestern reaches of Castilla y León, bordering Galicia. This geographic position lets Bierzo benefit from abundant rainfall and its rivers form an integral part of the Miño-Sil hydrographic basin. Moreover, the region boasts a diverse landscape, with a basin encircled by mountains, offering a rich array of elevations and aspects.
Adding to its charm are the ever-changing soils, transitioning from the fertile clay of the valley floor to the rugged slate of the surrounding mountainsides. Old vineyards, the uniqueness of the Mencía variety—often hailed as the antithesis of the renowned Tempranillo—and the new Burgundian-inspired classification, stand as notable hallmarks. After a thorough zoning process in the area, producers have successfully tied their premium selections to the terroir, resulting in a surge in grape prices for Bierzo growers.
But perhaps the key to the region's success has been its concentration of talented and energetic producers. We have written extensively about Bierzo's leading names. Raúl Pérez is a respected local winemaker who has attracted many colleagues and housed them in his winery for their first vintages. Álvaro Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Pérez arrived at the turn of the century and have been responsible for raising the bar in terms of quality and price, putting Bierzo on the fine wine map.
Although there are obviously players of different sizes and with different approaches to the market, Bierzo has emerged as a great showcase for small projects driven by young, dedicated producers or families with a long winegrowing tradition in the area.
If anyone had told José Antonio García, a successful restaurant owner near Barcelona, that he would end up as a winegrower in his family's home region, he would probably not have believed it.
"The 2008 financial crisis wiped me out," he recalls. "I had to reinvent myself on my grandfather's three hectares of land in Valtuille de Abajo. The family moved to Barcelona when his father was three. His paternal grandparents came from Corullón. His maternal grandfather was born in Viariz, one of the highest and most isolated hamlets of Corullón, while his grandmother came from Valtuille de Abajo.
This combination has allowed José Antonio to transition between the valley (Valtuille) and the mountains (Corullón), while keeping winemaking on a human scale. He embodies the role of the small producer and is a model of what a family can achieve by focusing on the quality and identity of its vineyards.
It wasn't an easy road, though. "It was an uphill struggle: buying vineyards, tanks, training... I made my first vintage at Raúl's [Raúl Pérez] winery," he explains. One of the most challenging things García had to do was stop thinking as a consumer and start thinking as a winemaker.
His own life changed when he arrived in Bierzo. It was there that he met Julia Peña, with whom he has built a family and now shares the business. Born in Ponferrada, Julia studied law in Madrid and has a Masters in the Stock Exchange; she loves the countryside and horse-riding. The duo work full-time in the wine business and take care of the winemaking. "We have three people working in the vineyards all year round, but because of the occupational risks, it's just the two of us in the winery," explains Julia. In this sense, since 2018, the use of ovis [small tanks that can be handled with a crane and allow work by gravity] has made their work much easier.
Since returning to the region, José Antonio has managed to acquire 14 hectares to add to the three with which he started the project. The winery, located in Valtuille de Abajo, has taken over the family's two houses in the village. They have bought back the adjoining plot (the previous owner had uprooted the old family vineyard) and plan to build an ageing cellar there.
In total, they grow 165 plots. Family connections have helped win the trust of locals who are often wary of outsiders. "Some of them were friends of my grandfather's, and my aunt knows a lot of people in Corullón, and that opens doors; in the end, wine growers came to offer us their vineyards," says José Antonio.
The vines are planted in well-known parajes in Valtuille de Abajo, such as El Rapolao, Villegas, La Raposa, Mata Los Pardos or Cabanelas, and in Fontouliña, Fontelas or San Martín in Corullón. These are usually vinified separately in plastic vats, except for La Raposa, which covers one and a half hectares and has its own foudre. The sites are then blended gradually. To date, the only site that has been released on its own is Fontouliña (less than 1,000 bottles were produced in 2019 and 2021), but for the 2022 vintage they will launch two other sites from Corullón, San Martín and Fontelas, and may add another from Valtuille.
The vineyards are being converted to organic farming. Additional recovery work is also being carried out, mainly by replanting rows of vines that had been uprooted to allow tractors access to the vineyards, or by replanting some vines with Godello grapes. "We want to preserve the original features of the vineyards, because the layout and density also give identity," they point out.
Indeed, working in two of the most famous villages in the DO has some serious advantages, as well as access to different soils and landscapes. José Antonio describes Valtuille de Abajo as "an isolated valley with rolling hills". While the higher areas are dominated by gravel mixed with clay, the slopes are dominated by clay and the lower areas, such as Villegas and Mata Los Pardos, are made up of sedimentary sand.
The river Burbia marks a clear boundary between the valley and the mountain. Corullón has a very different profile. The first layer of soil has some clay and organic matter, often with a limestone component, but slate with varying degrees of decomposition is predominant. The vines are planted on steep slopes, which pose a great challenge to vine growing. José Antonio also points out the higher percentage of white grapes: between 10 and 15%. "The higher you go, the more white grapes you find."
Since José Antonio released his first vintage in 2011, his understanding of the region and winemaking has changed significantly. "Now I look at wine from a different perspective. I have come to realise that it's necessary to do the opposite of extracting and to manipulate as little as possible". He believes in working harder in the vineyards, harvesting early to avoid over-ripening and compensating for the austerity that Mencía can show at this stage with white grapes. Whole clusters are regularly used, but the maceration period with the skins has been reduced to 10 to 20 days.
They produce 70,000 bottles, exactly the amount they feel is right for their project. "When you reach 100,000 bottles, you go from being a winegrower to a salesperson of yourself," says Julia.
The range has been completely revamped. "The pandemic gave us the opportunity to rethink and redesign the wines in line with the area's new classification," they point out. The labels are certainly more upmarket than the more casual style of the past, which focused more on value for money. "I loved the Un Culín and Aires de Vendimia labels in the early days, but then I realised they lacked identity. Now we have focused on zonification, even though it feels like a great responsibility to put Valtuille and Corullón on a label," admits Juan Antonio.
The entry-level red Un Culín (around 40,000 bottles, €12.5) is now a village wine: Vino de Villa de Valtuille de Abajo. Here they work with around 20% stems and rely on pebble and clay soils, as opposed to sandy soils destined for the Viñas Viejas (Old Vines, 4,000 bottles, €35), also a Vino de Villa de Valtuille de Abajo) where they usually work with 80% whole clusters. The 2021 vintage is expressive and fragrant, with fresh mint notes, and has been aged for a year in 500- and 228-litre oak barrels.
The Vino de Villa Corullón Viñas Viejas (3,500 bottles, €38) is made and aged in the same way and has more depth, with lots of wild berries, excellent acidity and fine tannins. Tasting both wines side by side is a great way to delve deeper into the different terroirs of Bierzo.
Julia (3,500 bottles, €23), named after José Antonio's wife, can be described as a vin de soif. It is a field blend made from a vineyard located at one end of Valtuille de Abajo with a relatively high proportion of white grapes. The wine is herbal, crisp and inviting.
Although there are fewer bottles produced, the white range is very varied. It starts with a Vino de Villa de Valtuille de Abajo (6,000 bottles, €16), made from a blend of Godello (60%), Dona Blanca (35%) and Palomino (5%). The grapes were pressed without destemming, and the must was left to ferment and mature in foudre and barrel, with no bâtonnage. The result is a fresh white wine with little intervention, plenty of fruit and good acidity.
The premium village wine, an old vine Godello sold also as Vino de Villa de Valtuille de Abajo (3,800 bottles €16), is sourced from El Tesín de la Campana, a site rich in sandy soils. It has toasted and dry stone notes, and excellent acidity.
There is also a 90-day skin contact Dona Blanca that they have been producing since the 2019 vintage, but it is limited to a single 228-litre barrel. With honeyed aromas reminiscent of a sweet wine, the palate offers striking acidity (the grapes were harvested with 11% alcohol potential). And a Palomino Vino de Villa de Corullón (300 bottles, €85, just one barrel), which undergoes a few days of skin maceration and finishes fermentation in barrels.
This range demonstrates two things: firstly, the growing interest in white wines and, secondly, the ease with which most Bierzo producers have incorporated the new classification into their wines, thus helping to generate added value. According to José Antonio and Julia, the price of grapes in Valtuille de Abajo has risen from €0.60 to €1 per kilo.
