César Márquez El Val Bierzo 2023

“The top white 2023 El Val comes from one of the coolest places in Valtuille with vines regrafted to old-clone Godello. It has 13.09% alcohol, a pH of 3.09 and 7.98 grams of acidity, with good ripeness and very good parameters for acidity and freshness in a very complete year that is closer to 2021 than to 2022. It comes from ancient vines on clay, stone and quartzite soils and fermented in one 500-liter barrel, where the wine matured with the lees that were never stirred for 12 months. It has a stunning nose, smoky and flinty, with a lovely reduction and hints of gunpowder and toasted sesame seeds, very Burgundian à la Coche-Dury. It’s very tasty, with a salty twist in the finish. Only 570 bottles were produced. It was bottled in October 2024.” 97+ pts Luis Gutiérrez The Wine Advocate 7/25