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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$55.99
César Marquez Perez has deep roots in Bierzo. His family founded the Castro Ventosa winery in 1752 and they still own it today. Thanks to that long history, he has access to many of the top sites in the region. He has grown up in the vines and wineries in Bierzo and has learned from his elders, including his uncle Raul Perez. And now he has his own project. He launched his solo project in 2015 with 4 wines. Today he makes 7 wines from 6 HA of 80 to 120-year-old vines.
He is a part of the new wave of Spanish vignerons who have a knowledge of the greater world of wine and also a respect for and connection to the land around him. He is finding old vines in unique sites and vinifying them separately to showcase the ability of Mencía to transmit terroir. He is structuring his lineup of wines in Burgundian fashion - appellation wine, village wine, single vineyard wines. He is farming organically. He is using partial whole cluster, reductive winemaking and low sulphur. He is making wines that are not just great for Bierzo or Spain, but that stand along with the best wines from any region or country.
750ml mlThe white Godello 2023 La Salvación was produced with grapes from a one-hectare centenary plot in Arganza, the northernmost and cooler village in Bierzo, a plot on clay and slate that was regrafted from Mencía some 20 years ago. The destemmed grapes were pressed in a pneumatic press, and the juice fermented in 500-litre oak barrels after setting for 24 hours. It matured in those barrels for one year, with the lees but without bâtonnage. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.07 and 7.25 grams of acidity, meaning good ripeness and very good freshness and acidity. It's vibrant and very tasty, piercing and pungent, with a nice compromise between power and elegance. It's more direct, sharp and tasty but with restraint; it takes time to open up in the glass.
Score: 95 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2025