Right now, I prefer the 2022 Las Lamas to the Moncerbal from this same vintage. Moncerbal is the place that suffers more from the draught and heat, as it's very rocky and has less organic matter, less water retention, while the Las Lamas has more resources to fight lack of water and high temperatures through the higher content of clay. This is expressive, perfumed and elegant, quite Lamas.

This is always the ripest of the wines, and in 2020 it's no exception: the 2020 Las Lamas is 14.5% alcohol. But what's important is that it doesn't show—it doesn't feel ripe or warm. In fact, this feels fresher and more harmonious and lively than the Moncerbal; it DOES need ripeness. It's very expressive and very Lamas, more Mediterranean and really what it is. It's juicy and peachy, very velvety, with round and glossy tannins but without being heavy. It's very balanced and shows a certain freshness, but it's a rich wine. It's now certified organic. 6,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2021 in a break from the long 2021 harvest.

The grapes used for the 2019 Las Lamas come from a selection of 1.75 hectares they own in the paraje in the village of Corullón, not far from the winery that gives this wine its name. This is a south-facing location with a tendency to good ripeness and generous wines. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in a combination of oak barrels and foudres for eight months. This is the prototype of a wine from clay-rich soils; it's round and vinous, refreshed by the altitude and the slate. This is more lactic than the Moncerbal, very classical and with fine but grainy tannins. Whatever it is, with years in bottle, this is more vinous and rounder and the Moncerbal is sharper. 5,520 bottles, 118 magnums and some larger formats produced.

I always like to compare the 2018 Las Lamas with the Moncerbal (and the others!) from the same vintage, as they are very close together and very similar, just a change in orientation, which, in this part of Bierzo, can mean huge differences. And it's often down to the harvest date, as the Mencía grape has a very short window of perfect ripening, and one day too early can be too early and one day too late ... well, too late! This comes from seven plots in the same place, the last one purchased in 2017 and totaling 2.13 hectares. They have requested the new classification of Gran Vi?a Clasificada in the new categories approved by the appellation Bierzo. This is a place with lots of light and a tendency toward intense ripeness, creating a more voluptuous wine. Besides Mencía, the vines have around 7% white grapes, mostly Jerez (Palomino) and 3% Alicante Bouschet or Garnacha Tintorera. They are in the process of certifying all their vineyards, and most probably the 2020 vintage will be able to carry the organic label. The natural fermentation was carried out in oak vats, and the maceration lasted 65 days. The élevage was in a combination of oak containers of different sizes and lasted for 11 months. This is a really impressive effort and showcases the generosity (in a Pomerol sense of the word) of this place; it's silky, elegant and tender but with more volume than the Moncerbal. I think this vintage is very transparent (or their interpretation has been), and each of the wines shows its personality, transcending the style of the year, like the year was more transparent. 3,097 bottles and some larger formats were filled in January 2020.