We were among the first U.S. retailers to champion César Márquez Pérez’s soulful, old-vine Mencía blends from Bierzo—a region reborn thanks to his legendary uncle, Raúl Pérez, the man who put Bierzo on the global wine map.
This morning, we featured César’s “Parajes” village blend, a sensational and affordable gateway into Bierzo’s magic. Now, we’re unveiling the crown jewels: two single-site reds that just recently earned 98 points from Luis Gutiérrez of The Wine Advocate, plus a rare Godello Blanco that evokes López de Heredia Rioja Blanco meets Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru.
These are wines of pedigree, precision, and place—crafted by a winemaker who’s redefining Bierzo through organic farming, minimal intervention, and a deep reverence for micro-terroir.
We’re sweetening the pot with 15% off any 6-bottle mix-and-match purchase. It’s the perfect excuse to get creative—explore both of César’s old-vine Mencía field blends and the ultra-aromatic Godello Blanco. These are wines that speak the language of low-yield, high-character Spanish terroir. Transport these wines to Priorat or Rioja Alavesa, and you’d be paying 30–40% more—proof that Bierzo’s brilliance still flies under the radar, but not for long. Viva España!
The "Villegas" is a Mencía-based centenary field blend that also includes Alicante Bouschet, Garnacha Tintorera, Doña Blanca, Palomino, and Godello grown in sandy soils. Matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 12 months.
98 Points, Wine Advocate:
"The new 2023 Villegas is produced with a Mencía-based centenary field blend on sandy soils in a "paraje" that tends to produce more elegant wines. It fermented with 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts in 1,000-liter containers with 18 days of maceration, and it matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 12 months. He's been working this vineyard since 2018, three small plots, and in 2023, he decided to finally bottle two of the three plots. 2023 is very good for Villegas, a rainy year for a dry place, and the wine at this ripeness shows great elegance and floral aromas, notes of orange peel (someone said limoncello!), giving it citrus freshness. It comes in at 12.85% alcohol with a pH of 3.71 and 5.23 grams of acidity. It's very elegant and fine-boned and exceeded my expectations. Villegas is a lieu-dit of around 11 hectares, nine of them planted. It could very well be the grand cru from Valtuille." - Luis Gutiérrez
