A field blend of Mencia, Alicante Bouschet, Pan y Carne and some white varieties, fermented with natural yeast in old oak tanks using 100% stems and no temperature control. It undergoes malo in tank and then spends one year in old barrels. There's no remontage or pigeage, and he works without sulphites. This has bright, fresh blueberry and cranberry fruit with a rasp of tannin and a savoury, saline sign-off. (Drink between 2020-2024)

As I mentioned in my note on the 2016 last year, the Ultreia “Saint Jacques” is an old vine cuvée made from a field blend that is principally Mencía, mingled with a touch of Trousseau and Alicante Bouschet co-planted, with the vines having been planted between 1900 and 1940. The 2017 Saint Jacques is showing excellent promise on the both the nose and palate, with the bouquet delivering a fine blend of sweet dark berries, chicory, graphite, tree bark, dark soil tones, a bit of coffee bean and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and very nicely balanced, with a fine core, good soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, vibrant and nascently complex finish. This is approachable today, but still really a young wine that deserves some bottle age to properly blossom. It is going to be excellent when it is mature, so a little patience will be richly rewarded.

The clean, floral and 2017 Ultreia Saint Jacques comes mostly from old vineyards from different soils in Valtuille and Villadecanes fermented in stainless steel and oak vats with part of full clusters and matured in used barriques for one year. It's produced in a fresh and very drinkable way. This is one of the best values from Bierzo and Spain, and a great introduction to Bierzo. It's a more serious wine than what the wine was when it was first produced, fresh and elegant. It's very reliable and a great value. There are some 100,000 bottles that were filled in two production runs. - LG