César Márquez Sufreiral 2024

César Márquez learned his trade alongside his uncle Raúl Pérez at La Vizcaína before setting up on his own in D.O. Bierzo, in the north-west of Castilla y León. Sufreiral is built on Mencía with a little Garnacha and other local reds, made with minimal intervention to show a specific place. Bierzo's slate and clay slopes sit in a sheltered pocket between Galicia's Atlantic influence and the Castilian plateau, a mild climate that lets Mencía ripen gently to a moderate 13% alcohol while holding fresh acidity. Slate soils drain well and give the wine its mineral, graphite edge. The wine spends twelve months in barrel, where slow oxygen exchange settles the tannins without burying the fruit or the floral aromatics that mark good Bierzo. It pours a bright medium ruby. The nose is red cherry and wild berry with violet, black pepper and a smoky, mineral note. The palate is fresh and perfumed, with juicy red fruit, fine tannins and a savoury, stony finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits roast poultry, lean beef and mushrooms.