Cesar Marquez - Bierzo 'El Val' Blanco - 2022

The white 2022 El Val comes from an old vineyard regrafted to Godello in one of the cooler places of the village of Valtuille. It has 12.76% alcohol and a pH of 3.12 with 6.8 grams of acidity. It's open, aromatic and expressive, with notes of pollen and dry yellow flowers; it is perhaps a little more advanced, like it's evolving a little faster (the 2022s were very approachable from very early on, he told me), a little more balsamic and Mediterranean. 550 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2023 from one single 500-liter barrel, the same barrel he used for the 2021, so this time it was one year older. 96 Points Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate