Description
Cepas Centenarias was Castro Ventosa's first grand vin back in 1999, and it's still the wine that best captures what the Pérez family's old vines in Valtuille can do. The 2023 has picked up 98 points from James Suckling and 97 from The Wine Advocate, which tells you plenty.
The Pérez family have farmed around Valtuille for something like 250 years. Raúl Pérez, the man credited alongside Álvaro Palacios with putting Bierzo on the map, ran his first harvest here at 22. These days he makes the wines with César Márquez Pérez, whose own label is known for its precision and clarity.
In recent years this has come from a single plot in Mata Los Pardos, an old field blend of Mencía with up to 5% Trousseau on clay and sand. It's fermented with wild yeasts and 30% whole bunches in an oak vat, sits on skins for a long 45 days, then spends 12 months in 225- and 500-litre barrels. Only 4,100 bottles were made.
It's a touch riper than most 2023s, though still only 13% alcohol, and it doesn't feel heavy at all. Expect elderberry, dried flowers, herbs and an earthy edge, with firm but fine tannins and a really focused, chiselled finish. Lovely now with slow-roasted lamb or a mushroom risotto, and it has the structure to keep going for years.
Power and elegance in the one glass, from one of Spain's great winemaking families. Serious Bierzo, and scarce.
98 points & #9 in the 2025 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Spain
"Focused and chiseled, it shows structure and seriousness, yet carries a candid, pleasant undertone."
- Jacobo García Andrade (James Suckling)
97 points
"this is a very complete wine, combining power and elegance... one of the most serious wines from the vintage, also very clean."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)
Castro Ventosa
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Common Questions
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