Raul Perez, the man behind Bodegas La Vizcaina De Vinos, is certainly one of the most important figures in the Spanish wine world and also one of the most important contemporary winemakers on the Iberian peninsula. His appearance alone attracts a great deal of attention, as his mighty beard could conjure up associations with a gang of rockers. Or an outdoorsman, and the latter is certainly true in a way. Because nature plays the absolutely dominant role in his thinking about winemaking. Born in the north-western Spanish wine-growing region of Bierzo, Raul Perez initially worked for a winery before starting to realise his own projects in 2003. And these revolutionised the sleepy wine world in the northwest of Spain. He catapulted the Bierzo region, hitherto known at best to die-hard insiders, into the ranks of Spain's top regions with sensational wines made from the indigenous varieties Godello for white wine and Mencia for red wine, which also drew the attention of discerning wine lovers to these varieties that hardly anyone had tasted before. He knows the terroir of the region and the character of these indigenous grape varieties like no other. Under the name La Vizcaina de Vinos, he bottles various individualistic vineyards around his birthplace of Valtuille, parcels that differ significantly in terms of topography, altitude, terroir and microclimate. He tries to "listen" to nature as closely as possible and, if necessary, gives each parcel its own method of vinification. From whole-cluster fermentation to long maceration periods, from small barrels to large containers. "No limits" seems to be the motto. And of course, all this effort is devoted exclusively to his favourite varieties, Godello and Mencia. The fact that he cultivates his parcels organically seems almost self-evident for a nature lover like him. The region, which was virtually unknown at the beginning of the new century, is now the talk of the town and the relevant specialist publications such as the Wine Spectator bow down to Raul Perez and award top marks to his wines, which are so skilfully shaped by the terroir.
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