Toxo Villa De Otero 2021

Olga Verde produces this field blend (Mencía with 6% Jerez and Doña Blanca) from vines with a minimum 80 years’ age on clay and slate soils in Otero. The vineyard is north-facing which goes someway to explain the wine’s inherent freshness and lift, and coupled with the slatey energy makes for immediate appeal. There’s a certain Atlantic profile to this wine with cherry and redcurrant fruit, alongside wild herbs and pretty floral aromas. It is a lighter Bierzo red but lacks nothing in complexity and concentration of fruit. 2024-27

The village red from Otero de Total, 2021 Toxo Villa de Otero has notes of dried roses and herbs, a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It was produced with 95% Mencía and 5% Palomino and Doña Blanca from seven small plots of ancient vines, all north-facing in the village of Otero de Toral at 540 to 620 meters above sea level on clay and slate soils. All of the grapes fermented together with 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts with a soft extraction and malolactic in tank followed by 10 months in used 225-liter oak barrels. It has notes of aromatic herbs, rockrose and a minty touch. It's medium-bodied, balanced and fresh, with moderate alcohol (13.5%) and a long and tasty finish. The oak is better integrated than in the previous vintage. 1,944 bottles were filled in February 2023.