Bodegas Raul Perez Ultreia Saint Jacques 2018
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThe truly impressive 2018 Ultreia Saint Jacques transcends its price category. They destemmed more grapes because they fermented it in the oak vats they bought from Vega Sicilia to use in the new winery, where it macerated for two months and then matured in used barrels for nine to 10 months. The secret is to use very good grapes from very good vineyards. The wine is clean, precise and fresh, and the oak is super-subtle, almost unnoticeable. The palate reflects a fluid wine of pleasure, a red of thirst. This is the wine where they have invested more, and 2018 has to be the finest vintage to date. It was bottled in October/November 2019. Rating: 93+
Bright ruby. Cherry, pungent flowers and baking spices on the fragrant nose, along with a hint of gaminess. Appealingly sweet and seamless in texture, offering juicy dark berry, cherry cola and floral pastille flavors that pick up a minerally nuance with air. Shows very good clarity and spicy thrust on the persistent finish, which is framed by supple, even tannins.
Fermented in whole bunches in open-top oak vats, this ages in a mix of foudres, barriques and cement. It starts off green, then develops some plummy notes to fill out its silken texture and gamey scents. For roast goat.
One of the few northwestern Spanish regions with a focus on a red variety, Bierzo, part of Castilla y León, is home to the flowery and fruity Mencia grape. Mencia produces balanced and bright red wines full of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, baking spice, pepper and black licorice. The well-drained soils of Bierzo are slate and granite.
Primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions of Spain and in the Dão of Portugal (where it is called Jaen), Mencia is an early ripening, low acid grape that can produce wines of great concentration, complexity and ageability. And yet Mencia once suffered from a poor reputation and deemed capable of producing simple and light red wines. Post-phylloxera growers would grow this variety on low, fertile plains, which produced high yields and uncomplicated finished wines. Somm Secret—The recent rediscovery of the ancient, abandoned vines planted on rugged hillsides of deep schist has unveiled the potential of Mencia and added discredit to its old reputation.