2022 Cesar Marquez Perez Sufreiral Mencia

Cesar Marquez has Bierzo running through his veins, and is the latest generation of the Perez family to own the leading Castro Ventosa winery in north-western Spain. Growing up around surrounded by the region's leading exponents, including a lengthy apprenticeship with one of the world's greatest winemakers, his uncle Raul Perez, has shaped much of what Cesar values in wine. While he still manages the family estate, Cezar started his own venture in 2015, and is already one of the most exciting young prospects in Spain.

Having a deep understanding and access to some of the best vineyards Bierzo has to offer, Cezar focuses on preserving purity and freshness, highlighting the promise Mencia has in the right place when made with attention to detail. Cezar is structuring his line-up of wines in Burgundian fashion, making a broader appellation wine, a village wine, along with several single vineyard offerings. Winemaking is similar on all wines, with grapes partially destemmed and fermented in open barriques, before spending 12 months in old barrels without any racking or top ups before bottling the following winter. These are wines that are not just great examples of Bierzo Mencia, but wines that truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest from any region or country.

Sufreiral is a high elevation south-west facing vineyard, close to Pico Ferreira yet on the other side of the slope. Unusually the soils here are limestone leading to a more unique and elegant expression of Mencia.

Other Reviews....
The one wine that is different, as it comes from the rare limestone soils in Bierzo (less than 3% in the region), is the 2022 Sufreiral. It comes through as very fine-boned, elegant and complex, with very fine tannins, a chalky texture and a long, tasty and almost salty finish. It has a stony, austere sensation akin to a wine from a cooler year, which is quite remarkable for a torrid year like 2022. This is very close to the quality of the 2021, which is remarkable. It has contained ripeness, 13.3% alcohol and a pH of 3.67. This is the most Burgundian of the 2022s. It fermented with 25% full clusters and matured in 500- and 600-liter oak barrels for 12 months. 1,940 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2024. Drink 2024-2035.
97 points
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate (Jun 21, 2024)