2003 El Castro de Valtuille, Bierzo, D.O. Bierzo . Situated in the North-west corner of Spain (in the western-most part of Castilla y Leon) , this small viticultural region produces Spain's answer to red Burgundy. Here, instead of pinot noir, they work with the indigenous Mencia, a grape variety that makes exuberant reds with a nice dose of flint on the nose and palate. This monocepage wine is starting to get noticed, as evidenced last May in the NYTimes food section:

"EVERY once in a while an unfamiliar wine region rises and demands attention. Suddenly, that region and its wines begin to wallpaper your mind like a new hit tune, so that you can't get them out of your head. Most recently, I've been hearing the song of the red wines of Bierzo." (A.A., NYTimes)

My first taste of Bierzo was last year last year at a local tasting given by local importer La Buena Vida , where I met the winemaker of this wine, Raul Perez. While going through his different bottlings, Mr Perez was very excited to show me how his wines reflected each of their "terroirs". This wine, his entry level wine, comes from vines plannted in sandy soils, while his other wines have different degrees of schist and clay. Of course, this ability to reflect the attributes of each individual vineyard reminds one of what is seen up and down the Cote d'Or. I gather from our discussion that the mindset is the same as well.

Onto the wine! Immediately after opening it's shy and I was a bit concerned with some acetone and volatile acidity, but time in the glass proved to be the key here. Eventually, cinamon, grafite, and rose aromas intice you to come back for more. Floral and high toned, has good structure, and finishes with that wonderful blackberry and slate/flint characteristic I found in the "Petalos del Bierzo" from Descendientes de J. Palacios (a wine I previously tasted in an earlier newsletter). I love the snappy acidity that balances out the ripe, brambly fruit flavors. At 12 Euros, this is a great bargain and deserves to be snapped up by the case.