Valeyo 2022

The varietal red 2022 Valeyo has a clear Mencía profile (it also has 5% Godello) and was sourced from the Miguel Rey three-hectare vineyard in the village of Valtuille de Arriba. The vines are at 650 meters above sea level on sandy soils and are worked organically and biodynamically but still not certified. The destemmed but uncrushed grapes fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts, and after malolactic, the wine matured for one year in new and used 500-liter French oak barrels. It shows a combination of wild berries, herbs and flowers and has a medium-bodied palate with abundant tannins and some faint rusticity. It feels a little riper at 13.5% alcohol and has some oak notes to be integrated with some more time in bottle. 2022 was a warm and dry year in the zone, with very high temperatures in the summer, and they started picking very early, on August 28. The wine has a seductive and fragrant style with fine tannins and is round and without edges but keeping the tension and freshness, reflected by a pH of 3.6. 12,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2023.