originally posted by VS:
Does Bierzo hold any interest around here?Except for the likes of Laureano Serres or Alfredo Maestro, I know that the geek appeal of Spanish wines is rather thin. But Bierzo, a forlorn place in northwest Spain, could have it - if you get ahold of the right producers. The rest is not really spoof - more like clumsy peasant attempts at spoof resulting in funky tannic monsters. But a bunch of people are working those old hillside vines diligently. So if you see them around, they're usually not very expensive (except for Alvaro Palacios' single-vineyard stuff, which are minute productions).
Reds are made with mencía, which we now know is a natural cross of the Jura's trousseau (in the Iberian península for, apparently, centuries) and an as yet unidentified northwestern Spain or northern Portugal grape. Whites, mostly with godello.
Some very old plots on slate or limestone. Vertical, too.
The 'good' names: Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios´(Descendientes de J. Palacios), Raúl Pérez (his own wines and those at Castro Ventosa and Estefanía), Gregory Pérez (Mengoba), Alejandro Luna (Luna Beberide and Paixar), Luzdivina Amigo, Verónica Ortega, Josep Mas (Massuria).
