Bierzo
Continental, Atlantic-influenced
A cool, green valley in north-west Spain where old-vine Mencía has been reframed, over the last two decades, as one of the country's most exciting reds.
Overview
About Bierzo
Tucked in the mountains of north-west Castilla y León, closer in climate to nearby Galicia than to the dry Spanish plateau, Bierzo is built on Mencía, a fresh, aromatic red grape once dismissed as ordinary. From the late 1990s, growers led by Álvaro Palacios's nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios and the winemaker Raúl Pérez sought out old, ungrafted, often steeply terraced vineyards on slate soil, making wines that drew comparisons to Burgundy and the Northern Rhône and reset the grape's international reputation.
Bierzo is marked on the map.
Spain
Shaded: León. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Continental, Atlantic-influenced
Cooler and wetter than most of inland Spain, sheltered by mountains but still open to Atlantic influence from nearby Galicia.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Slate and quartzite on steep hillsides, similar in character to Priorat's llicorella, alongside sandier, gentler valley-floor plots.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Descendientes de J. Palacios
Ricardo Pérez Palacios's estate; the wine most credited with Bierzo's revival.
Raúl Pérez
An influential winemaker across many small, old-vine Bierzo projects.
Losada
A well-regarded estate for accessible, terroir-driven Mencía.