Raul Perez Valdecanada Mencia, Bierzo, Spain 2018

Valdecañada is Raúl Pérez's high-elevation village cuvée — a field blend grown on schist at altitude in the hills above Ponferrada, and a wine quite unlike anything in his Ultreia or La Vizcaína projects. Predominantly Mencía with a meaningful proportion of old-vine Palomino, fermented with whole bunches and raised in neutral barrique, it trades power for precision: suave and tense, with a perceptible stoniness through the mid-palate and a savory salinity that betrays its high, schist origins. Smooth, pixelated berry fruit; fluid, finely detailed, and intellectually focused.

Not a lavish wine — a thinking-drinker's Bierzo. → Roughly 1,200 bottles, from a 2018 vintage prized for elegance.

• Field blend: predominantly Mencía with ~10–15% old-vine Palomino
• High-elevation schist parcels, Valdecañada (Ponferrada), Bierzo
• 100% whole-bunch fermentation; extended skin contact; neutral barrique
• ~1,200 bottles — a finesse-driven village cuvée