César Márquez Sufreiral 2018

The 2018 Sufreiral is one of the very few reds from limestone soils from Bierzo. This year, it comes from a higher-altitude plot (he now works with five separate plots in the paraje, but the rest go to the Parajes bottling) and in a vineyard with some white grapes. It fermented with full clusters and a longer maceration, resulting in a wine with less color and more tension. If Bierzo is somewhere between the Northern Rhône and Burgundy, this one gravitates more toward Burgundy. It's floral and textured, with a fine thread, very fine tannins and the sapidity of the limestone, very tasty. It's a more ethereal version of 2017. It matured in a well-seasoned, neutral 600-liter oak vat for one year. Only 721 bottles were filled in December 2019.