The Ultreia bottling that called my attention from the moment the wines were poured is the 2021 Ultreia Paluezas. I've only tasted a couple of vintages of this before, but Raúl Pérez remembers that it has called my attention every time. The distinct feature here is that the plot has limestone soils, which are very rare in Bierzo, and the majority of the place is on slate soils. So, this has the special finesse and elegance of the limestone, and it's perfumed and elegant and has a velvety palate with very fine, chalky tannins. This is now more Burgundian than Rh?ne, from a cool year with very perfumed reds. This is from only 0.4 hectares or so, and it even has a small part with Palomino; he produces one 225-liter barrel and a 500-liter one.

I uncorked a bottle of the rare 2018 Ultreia Paluezas (only 600 bottles produced) and found it so characterful and distinctly marked by the slate soils (because the soils there are slate-based despite having the rarity to also contain small portions of limestone) with an earthy and dark profile that I decided to write a note on it. The wine is a root and soil wine rather than an airy and floral one, closer to a Northern Rh?ne in character than a red Burgundy. In fact, the clear reminiscences of a C?te-R?tie is what pushed me to write this note. It has aromas of black olives, Mediterranean herbs and tar, and it has fine, powdery tannins like the decomposed slate from the Douro in Portugal. It's medium-bodied and has a fine texture, with pungent, persistent flavors. Yes, very much like a C?te-R?tie. A C?te Brune C?te-R?tie... It's evolving slowly; it should make old bones.

One of the few vineyards in Bierzo where the soils have a significant content of limestone is San Juan de Paluezas, in a different valley looking into Las Médulas goldmines. They produce three barrels of the 2016 Ultreia de Paluezas from this vineyard. This year it had a shorter élevage, only around 12 months, as they saw it was ready and was racked out of the wood. Limestone soils always deliver dry, chalk-like tannins and a special tastiness that often translates in an almost salty feeling. It has more bones than flesh; it's austere and should develop slowly in bottle. In fact, they are now releasing the 2015, as they feel it benefits from some more time in bottle. I like the austerity here. 850 bottles produced from a small plot with very low yields.

The 2014 Ultreia de Paluezas is a true rarity as the vines are planted on limestone soils, which are scarce in Bierzo, and the wine is really different, with a note of wet chalk that is not present in any other wine here. It has a very elegant palate, medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a velvety texture, with an earthy, limestone touch. It ends with a very tasty finish, and an almost salty sensation. There are only 300 bottles of this, as they could only produce one barrel of it. It was bottled in January 2017.

The 2008 Ultreia de Paluexis is also 100% Mencia sourced from a single vineyard with slate soil. It was fermented with 50% whole clusters and aged for 20 months in seasoned French oak. Deeply colored, it displays a captivating perfume of exotic spices, incense, lavender, wild cherry, black raspberry, and earthy minerals. Dense and rich but not quite as voluptuous as the Cova de la Raposa cuvee, It, too, will have a drinking window extending from 2014 to 2024+. Bodegas y Vinedos Raul Perez is the hangout of Spain’s most visionary vigneron, Raul Perez. These latest releases only reinforce the legend. Importer: Ole Imports, New Rochelle, NY; INK”http://www.oleimports.com”www.oleimports.com