Bodegas Veronica Ortega - 'Quite' - Mencia, Red Blend - Bierzo, Castilla y Léon, ES - 2023

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Quite is our entry-level wine. 2023 is our tenth vintage. It comes from the blend of several plots in Valtuille de Abajo. Vineyards of Mencía around 90–100 years old, on clay-sandy soils with pebbles (quartzites, slates…) predominant in the Bierzo valley.

Winemaking with mostly destemmed grapes, 15% whole clusters from some plots, fermented in stainless steel tanks, with light handling during fermentation to avoid excessive extraction, and short macerations (5–7 days).

This is the first vintage in which we aged Quite over two winters: the first 10 months in French oak tronconic vats and the following 6 months in 500L barrels, until bottling at the beginning of spring. This allows the wine to be much more developed, with a much more fluid texture.

The idea behind this wine is to combine the minerality and fruitiness provided by clay soils while preserving the friendly and cheerful character of Mencía, resulting in a very approachable wine, with lots of fruit, freshness, and agility.

Seductive nose of red fruits, blue flowers with a licorice background; light in style with a slender structure on the palate.

Mencía and others (Doña Blanca, Palomino, Alicante Bouschet)

Vineyard of 90–100 years

Clay-sandy soils with pebbles (quartzites, slates…)

16 months in French oak barrels

28,000 bottles 2023
13.5% Vol.

Notes on the Producer

Here’s a little bit of Andalusian light coming to us by way of Veronica Ortega. Orginally from Cadiz, her love for the Mencía grape brought her to Bierzo in northwestern Spain. Since then, she’s become a reference in the region and has blurred the lines between classic and natural Bierzo. She worked with Daphne Glorian and Alvaro Palacios in the Priorat as well as a quick stint at DRC in Burgundy before ultimately settling in Valtuille de Abajo in 2012. Raúl Pérez was nice enough to offer her some space at his winery where she made her first couple vintages until moving into her own winery. Like everybody else in Bierzo, you could say Raúl had an influence in her winemaking but without a doubt she's made a name for herself recovering old winemaking traditions and redefining what Bierzo can be.
Working mostly between the towns of Valtuille and Cobrana, she's making DO classified wine while also making villages and single vineyard style wines. Most of her vines are over 70 years old accounting for 5 total hectares spread across more than 20 small vineyards planted on a mix of clay, sand, and slate. Her grapes are a product of organic farming and her wines are made as naturally as possible only adding minimal doses of sulphur when needed to avoid deviations. You will find her wines are straight and polished while still having a natural edge that gives them the energy and life we look for in all of our selections.Verónica Ortega
-Selections de la Viña