Bierzo

95 Points! The 2021 Dominio de Anza Selección de Parcelas goes back to the elegance, perfume and refinement of the wines from 2018 and 2019—floral and clean. It comes from multiple places in different villages, all vinified separately in a year he found to be marked by the rain during the harvest. This has very good freshness. He used more full clusters this year, and the élevage was in 500-liter barrels and oak foudres. It's very attractive and easy to drink. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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92+ Points! The 2020 Unculín Blanco is even better than the already impressive 2019. A blend of Godello and Doña Blanca, it is austere and reveals a light to medium-bodied palate with a moderate 12.2% alcohol and a low pH of 3.0 and 7.4 grams of acidity. The vines are in Valtuille on sand, clay and stone soils. After macerating with the skins for 24 hours, the grapes were pressed, and half of the juice was let to settle and the other half fermented with all the solids, the Doña Blanca in an oval oak foudre and the Godello in stainless steel, all with indigenous yeasts. It matured with the lees for five months. It's tasty, serious and dry—a white that can develop in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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95+ Points! The spectacular white Godello 2021 La Salvación was produced with grapes from a one-hectare centenary plot in Arganza, the northernmost and cooler village in Bierzo, a plot that was regrafted from Mencía some 17 years ago. The destemmed grapes were pressed in a pneumatic press, and the juice fermented in 500-liter oak barrels after setting for 24 hours. It matured in those barrels for one year, with the lees but without bâtonnage. It has 12.56% alcohol and very good freshness and acidity, consistent with a cold year, with an expressive nose of dry flowers and pollen, aromatic and showy, open and clean, very precise and pure. It has less alcohol than the previous year, with a super fresh palate. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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93 Points! There's a little more ripeness and concentration in the 2020 Parajes, which matured in well-seasoned (at least fourth use) barriques and a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's a little rounder and creamier, a more powerful wine (it was bottled 15 days before I tasted it) with a nice Bierzo character. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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93 Points! A fresh, crisp and saline godello with supple notes of lime, stones, almonds and fresh herbs. Medium body with bright acidity. Sharp and agile. Good tension and volume on the palate with a harmonious, vibrant finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

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97 Points! I love the 2021 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana, where they use the westernmost part of the vineyard with more sand in the soils, mostly north facing. It's a wine with a floral nose that is aromatic and perfumed, elegant but with clout, with concentration and power. They have been picking earlier and earlier, lowering the alcohol, and they feel more comfortable below 13%; they removed the rusticity and extraction, and the wine is more elegant than ever. It reminds me of the 2018, with similar a profile of freshness. They produced around 5,000 liters from the one+ hectare they have here. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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From the importer: 100% Mencía sourced from the El Canto vineyard near the town of San Lorenzo. The soils here are slate and quartz with a northern exposure. 100% whole clusters, crushed by foot; fermented with native yeast in clay amphorae and macerated on the skins for five months with no punchdowns or pumpovers, then aged for eight months in used French oak. 1,000 bottles produced.

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The “Cepas Centenarias” cuvee is from vineyards that all have vines of at least 100 years of age. Aromas include rich dark plums, dark cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of blackberries. Flavors include an inky and saturated sensation of dark plums, dark cherries, and boysenberries. There is a medium to full body, good balance and acidity, and a full, persistent, and minerally finish.

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97 Points! The 2020 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana matured mostly in a troncoconic oak foudre and had a very short time in barrel. This wine has more Alicante Bouschet in the blend than others, and they didn't include the white grapes in the vineyard. But against all logic, the wine has more finesse than the 2019. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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96 Points! There is more freshness in the 2020 La Vizcaína El Rapolao, where I even found notes of eucalyptus. It's medium-bodied and has fine tannins, very tasty and balanced. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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97 Points! It's not clear which vintage is better for the Ultreia range, as it depends on the wine. I think the 2019 Ultreia El Rapolao is better than the 2020, perhaps because it's from a warmer and riper year, when this wine tends to behave better. This is juicy, round and complete, with abundant, very fine tannins and the balance and stuffing to develop nicely in bottle. 1,500 bottles produced. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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93 Points! This is a red that is perfect for the by-the-glass market: the 2018 Quite is light and perfumed and has the Atlantic freshness of the 2018 vintage. It starts off a little reductive, and decanting it in advance could be a good idea if you pull the cork any time soon. 2018 has been a slow-developing vintage—the wines are evolving slowly, and this feels very young and tender. It's floral and elegant and has less alcohol than any other vintage, so it's a little lighter and more delicate and subtle. They harvested slowly, the vinification process was paused and the development of the wine quite slow. This has a velvety texture, but it always has structure, juicy berries and very fine tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com Learn More

93 Points! La Poulosa is quite regular and ripe, with notes of prunes, and even though there is more freshness in 2018, the 2018 La Vizcaína La Poulosa shows closer to the 2017, keeping the profile of the vineyard, which is very strong. In fact, there is only half a degree difference in alcohol between this 2018 and the 2017. There is more fruit here, and it's juicy and approachable, with integrated oak (they started replacing the 225-liter oak barrels with 500-liter ones), more freshness and a livelier palate. The tannins are round, with no edges, despite the fact that all the La Vizcaína range ferments with 100% full clusters. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com Learn More