El Rapolao is one of the warmer lieux-dits Raúl Pérez works in Valtuille — a site he leans on in cooler years for its generosity and depth. The Mencía here is given the patient, large-format treatment: native fermentation and long aging in oak foudre, which lends a gentle toast and a spicy, sesame-seed lift rather than overt wood. Medium-bodied and balanced, with moderate alcohol, a tender mouthfeel, and the fine-grained tannins that mark Pérez's reds.

A single Bierzo cru, made in tiny quantity. → Old-vine Mencía from one of Valtuille's named sites — the antithesis of anonymous regional red.

• 100% Mencía, El Rapolao lieu-dit, Valtuille (Bierzo)
• Native fermentation; aged in large-format oak foudre
• Medium-bodied, ~13% alc., fine-grained tannins
• Single-site Bierzo from a family with 300 years of vine-growing