Raúl Pérez {Part 3}: "Can I Kick It?"

The reds are another untraditional story. They follow the path of a lesser known grape unless you have been to the small, desolate, hilly villages in central western Spain. Where the Pinot Noir of Spain, Mencia (“Men-Thee-Ah”), is home. Light, easy drinking, fruity wines a lot of the time. The wines are morphed into something to not be forgotten when Raul began to make them.

We started off back to his roots in a way. With two wines from a hillside area around his home town. Specific plots now considered to be some of the highest quality sights in the Bierzo region of Northwestern Spain. specifically around the town of Vatuille de Abajo.

The vineyards have a similar appearance to grapes growing on a hill that you would expect with

the tiered trellises up to the peaks. But the grapes themselves tell a much different story. One of a series of monks back to the 9th century traveling across the land for pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James. Each carrying vine trimmings from their home countries and planting them along the way. Making it one of the most diverse sections in Spain and in comparison to parts of the world.

Back to what was inside the bottles. La Vizcaína is the estate practicing organic from where the wines came from and is the latest project for Raul Perez. He reaches over and pours me a glass of Las Gundiñas. A wine as tricky as the name is to say. It doesn’t dance across your tongue the first time like a fruit bomb from California. Instead it seems to attack each of the taste buds individually depositing little droplets of flavor before washing itself away quickly. It’s dry, but not too dry. Flavorful, but light. Cherries and Blackberries then turn into smoke and toasted spices. Truly another special and unique wine comprised of that main grape Mencia and accompanied by ancient Monk’s French and somewhat forgotten varietals.

As a comparison of different sites a little more than a stones throw away from each other he pours the La Poulosa next. Here you have the same foundation of Mencia wine then blended in with a couple more powerful varieties in the area. It has more expressions of plump ripe from the bush fruit, but sets itself apart with tastes of freshly cut violets and roses.

The journey swills on a little more south and west. Next featuring three wines from a collaboration project called Castro Candaz. Located this time in Ribeira Sacra, Spain of the same area in the Northwest. The vineyards here are more dramatic and a point overlooking the steep slopes climbing almost straight up walls on either side of the Lin River calls them ‘The Wines of Heaven.’ It’s an area the Romans used to grow grapes over 2,000 years ago. Raúl Pérez and Rodrigo Méndez started joining forces based on the belief that ‘Unity is Strength’ really refining the wines.

He constructed the order like a perfect symphony of flavors. Starting with the entry level wine, then got into another special field blend, and finally finished with a pure 100% form of Mencia that stole the show. The difference in steep pitch with higher hills along a riverbed showed through in comparison to the desert like mesas of Bierzo. Much more tastes of fresh red fruits and fresh herbs instead of dark and bitter berries with smoke and wet soil.

Castro Candaz really laid the foundation for the project. Smooth and precise with simple and natural characteristics you would hope for. A blend of fruit and spices on your tongue so easy to drink that you don’t even have to think about it.

Finca La Curvado, next in line, created a speed bump. Another epiphany moment of, “What am I tasting?” It started off just as smooth and simple at the first drop, but then curled like a wave crashing into the sand on the rest of your tongue. It exploded with a dryness washed away by a blackberry, black cherry, and plum smack. Then curled back up and hit again with campfire smoke, cigar ash, and sandalwood. Finally in the last wave came the succulent wild strawberry and pomegranate flavors with this mouthwatering effect that made you want more.

The A Boca do Demo finally brought the winemakers back into a level playing field. Making a entire wine just out of Mencia like most other producers in the area and really demonstrated what they are capable of with the same exact tools. Here the representation of sense of place prevails with one more trick. A lesser used method of aging the wine in Chestnut barrels. All of a sudden the wine is morphed into a steak dinner and dessert. Flavors of grilled meat and savory spices begin to also show wild mushrooms that would be on the plate right next to it and then finishes with a kiss of dark chocolate flavors. Tremendous!

After the last of the lineup I grab another empty and return to my favorite. The perfect end by finishing with the perfect beginning. I grab the bottle of Atalier Albarino, but this time ask him for his glass. Pour us both a swig and in true Aspen fashion: cheers then gulp the last drops together.

We exchanged information and he invites me to the estate any time. Reality finally hits when the commotion of the room and Phife Dawg asking, “Can I kick it?” on the radio take over again. “Yes you can!” is my response as I envision making my way to Spain for our next encounter.